Northern Lights: Stunning photos captured in Scotland over the weekend
- Published
Also known as the Aurora Borealis, the colourful lights can be seen in the sky when particles from the Sun hit the Earth's atmosphere. Weather Watcher Scotty said he watched the ethereal display at Findhorn beach in Moray for three hours.
The best conditions for watching the Northern Lights are when it's dark, you're away from light pollution and there aren't any clouds in the sky. Weather Watcher Monika Focht had great conditions it seems, and managed to snap this pic in Pennan village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Auroras can appear in a range of different colours, including pale green, pink, shades of red, yellow, blue and violet. David Gierszewski said the sky turned green in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire.
The colours are produced when particles hit different gases in our atmosphere - depending on what and where they are, they'll show up differently. Oxygen gives off green light when it is hit 60 miles above the Earth. At 100-200 miles though, you'll get a rare all-red auroras. Nitrogen causes the sky to glow blue, but if it's higher in the atmosphere the glow has a purple hue. Susan Bedford saw the green lights in Whinnyfold, Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire.
As the name suggests, the further North you are, the more likely you are to see them, which is why they are spotted in Scotland more than other parts of the UK. Alan Tough was lucky enough to witness the Northern Lights from his home in Elgin, Moray.
If you go even further North, you'll see the auroras more often. For example, Alaska, Canada, Iceland and Norway all have frequent sightings of the colourful lights. Skywatcher captured this image closer to home at Lossiemouth West beach in Moray on Saturday evening.
- Published10 June 2021
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