Scots across the nation looked to the skies last night as the Northern Lights put on yet another spectacular display.
Residents from across the country - in parts including Loch Lomond, Greenock, and in the far north - were quick to whip out their cameras and snap the breathtaking Aurora Borealis, posting them on social media.
Keen fans of the lights were urged by meteorologists to look up from around 11pm.
AuroraWatch UK - a free service offering alerts of when the aurora might be visible from the UK - was quick to issue an ‘amber alert’ just before the sky began to glow.
Amber alert: possible aurora. Issued 2017-03-02 01:09 UTC by @aurorawatchuk.
— AuroraWatch UK (@aurorawatchuk) March 2, 2017
The service - which is run by scientists in the Space and Planetary Physics group at Lancaster University’s physics department - said on its Facebook page: “Aurora is likely to be visible by eye from Scotland, northern England, and Northern Ireland; possibly visible from elsewhere in the UK.
“Photographs of aurora are likely from anywhere in the UK. Viewing aurora requires clear, dark skies away from light pollution.”
One lucky spectator described his excitement, and replied: “Saw them for the first time ever 10 mins west of Glasgow - near Port Glasgow at approx 10:30.
“Roundabout just to east of Port Glasgow gets you down to a car park by the river Clyde, with great views to the North. Dead exciting!”
Beautiful aurora tonight in Shetland Photo taken Mossbank Shetland @ 8.30pm @TamithaSkov @aurorawatchuk @BBCWthrWatchers pic.twitter.com/m9fS4BSiFk
— Kareen (@Kareen_B_H) February 27, 2017
Aurora from Loch Lomond tonight @chunder10 @BBCWthrWatchers @TamithaSkov @StormHour @AuroraNotify @Aurora_Alerts @aurorawatchuk pic.twitter.com/fogQs93Pi7
— john anderson (@johnmyjo1976) March 2, 2017
#Aurora #ness #isleoflewis #hebrides between cloud and rain. Still going strong @VirtualAstro @StormHour @TamithaSkov @aurorawatchuk pic.twitter.com/VmQMohCWy8
— John-GM7PBB (@GM7PBB) March 1, 2017
@Alex91_CY @aurorawatchuk yes! Finally got something! Went to Dunbar for it this time pic.twitter.com/rORgDG2Bfp
— Rasa A (@RasaAkstinaite) March 1, 2017
@aurorawatchuk Great display in Dunbar, East Lothian. Even with street light pollution they were visible to the eye. GoPro x 30 secs pic.twitter.com/WDUbmSgeCC
— Rich Taylor (@emmataylor12) March 2, 2017
Amazing Aurora last night #Aurora #ScotSpirit #knoydart #Auroraborealis #westcoast #Scotland #northernlights pic.twitter.com/8T3udh0gSH
— M.H Photographic (@M_Hphotographic) March 2, 2017
The Northern Lights appear as a result of collisions between gaseous particles in Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere.
Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding.
The Met Office has explained in a blog post: “The Northern Lights appear as large areas of colour including pale green, pink, shades of red, yellow, blue, and violet in the direction due north.
“During a weak aurora, the colours are very faint and spread out, whereas an intense aurora features greater numbers of and brighter colours which can be seen higher in the sky with a distinct arc.
“The lights generally extend from 50 miles to as high as 400 miles above Earth’s surface.”
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