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In pictures: Northern Lights dazzle on Hogmanay as new year starts with a red and green bang

Solar activity on New Year's Eve lit up the sky for first-footers in spectacular fashion, as shown in our collection of readers' photos.

Did you see the Northern Lights last night? Laura Masson took this photo in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. Image: Laura Masson
Did you see the Northern Lights last night? Laura Masson took this photo in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. Image: Laura Masson

As Hogmanay revellers raised a glass to the new year, the Northern Lights illuminated the skies above the north-east in a spectacular light show.

From Aberdeen Beach to Drumnadrochit, bursts of green and red lit up the late December sky.

The Aurora Borealis revealed some of its most vibrant colours at the end of a banner year for Northern Light lovers.

Sightings peaked in September and residents across the north and north-east of Scotland were even able to photograph the lights on their mobile phones.

Crowds of people flocked to Aberdeen Beach and other spots close to the city to view the phenomenon for themselves.

Tuesday night’s aurora was also widely captured, as seen in these superb images taken by readers of The Press and Journal and Evening Express.

Cameras at the ready for new year Northern Lights

Photographers were already on high alert as aurora weather watchers said conditions on Tuesday night were likely to deliver visible Northern Lights.

And they were not let down, with some of the clearest sightings of the year on show.

According to the Met Office, the Northern Lights result from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

If you have a photo you’d like to share send it to us by email to livenews@pressandjournal.co.uk, or send it to us on our Facebook pages.

The best pictures of the Lights captured by residents across the north and north-east:

The sky over Inverurie on Hogmanay taken on an iPhone with no filters. Image: Morag Allan
Melanie McEwan in Alford took this photo without using a filter. Image: Melanie McEwan
Sam Dukes and his family didn’t even have to get out of their hot tub at Deeside Holiday Park outside Peterculter to see the Northern Lights. Image: Sam Dukes
Birkhill in Aberdeenshire was bathed in light on Hogmanay. Image: Fern Dunne
Readers in Drumnadrochit near Inverness captured the Northern Lights along with some stars. Image: Tash and Emma
Stacey Collier captured the night’s vivid red and greens that were on show in Meikle Wartle. Image: Stacey Collier
Lorraine Sharkey saw the aurora out the window of her home to the north of Aberdeen. Image: Lorraine Sharkey

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