Northern Lights sweep skies with colour as Scots snap stunning photographs of Aurora Borealis

Parts of northern Scotland were awash with colour on Sunday as the Northern Lights lit up the skies in a stunning display.

On Sunday evening, a number of Scots snapped pictures and videos of the Aurora Borealis, which is caused by high-energy particles from the sun colliding with the upper atmosphere of Earth.

Delighted residents in Moray and Aberdeenshire began reporting sightings of the Northern Lights at around 8pm on Sunday.

Meanwhile pictures from Ullapool showed a strong presence of green light in the skies.

Northern Lights light up the sky in Ullapool. Photo: Katy Booth. Katy Booth

The tinge of red from Aurora Borealis pictured in Ullapool. Photo: Will Copestake. Will Copestake

The lights made a reflection on the waters in the Highlands. Photo: Will Copestake Will Copestake

Sightings were also reported as far south as Cornwall in England.

The Met Office says the lights are best spotted from Scotland, northern England, northern Wales and Northern Ireland.

Insight Sean Batty STV meteorologist

There were reports of the Northern Lights all the way down to Cornwall last night with a good showing for Scotland.

We’ve had a good winter this year with spells of Aurora activity, but I’d expect it to become increasingly difficult to see them over the next several weeks as our night skies continue to lighten as we move towards the summer solstice in June.

If you haven’t been able to see them this winter fret not, as the sun is coming to its peak in an 11-year cycle so I expect next winter will be good too, before we see a waning of activity during the following years.

As for the next few nights, the Aurora levels have decreased so we’re not expecting anything as good as last night, plus there will be a bit more cloud around.