Stargazers across Scotland were treated to a dazzling display of the Northern Lights on Saturday night, with the phenomenon visible across large swathes of the country. The aurora borealis lit up the skies from Glenrothes to Stonehaven, with residents capturing the colourful spectacle on camera.
What causes the Northern Lights
The phenomenon is most visible in the time around the equinoxes in spring and autumn and is triggered by solar activity. The sun emits charged particles known as solar wind, which, when they interact with the Earth's magnetic field, are funnelled towards the magnetic poles. As the energetic particles collide with gases in the upper atmosphere, they release energy as light. Oxygen produces green and, at higher altitudes, red, while nitrogen creates blue and purple.
Scotland is the best place in the UK to see the aurora, thanks to its more northerly position, and people across the country used that to their advantage on October 10.
More sightings expected
The aurora borealis could be visible again tonight, tomorrow and even into Tuesday, October 13. Forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: "They could be a little weaker tonight (Sunday), so most likely seen across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. They may be a little stronger again on Monday night so could be seen further south into central areas."
October is one of the best times to see the Northern Lights, according to experts, as longer and darker nights allow the solar event to have a bigger impact.
The space weather forecast reads: "Two glancing coronal mass ejections followed by a coronal hole high speed stream bring a daily chance of enhancing the auroral oval, with sightings possible across northern Scotland and similar geomagnetic longitudes where skies are clear between 10-13 Oct."
The Met Office forecasts says the best chances for seeing the Northern Lights again could be October 13 due to noticeable patches in cloud cover across Scotland through the evening and into the early hours of the morning. Chances are admittedly looking slimmer over October 11 and 12 as a significant amount of cloud is set to blanket the country.
