Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.
More
Home News Highlands & Islands

Northern Lights put on the ‘best show ever’ over much of Scotland, and you can expect the same again tonight

By Louise Glen
Northern Lights from Farr in the Highlands. Image Terri Carline Middleton.
Northern Lights from Farr in the Highlands. Image Terri Carline Middleton.

For many, the Northern Lights put on their best show ever last night, with green and red dancing lights putting on a display.

People looked to the north last night – and were in for a treat, from about 8.30pm.

Ewan Miles on Mull caught the lights, “dancing the night away” and shared a time-lapse video of the green and red lights in all their glory.

And, the pictures that people are sharing are simply incredible.

The aurora from Inverness. Image: Alex Strang

Visible to the naked eye – with phone cameras as well as professional photographers capturing the scene from some of Scotland’s most iconic places.

Northern Lights from Farr in the Highlands. Image: Terri Carline Middleton

In the rural Highlands people described “the busiest night of the year” with people rushing to dark areas to capture the “once in a lifetime experience”.

While it is not the first time this year the Mirrie Dancer lit up the sky, many described last night’s show as the “best in decades”.

Wow, the northern lights from the sea wall tonight. Taken from my iPhone, amazing!

Posted by The Old Inn, Carbost, Isle of Skye on Sunday, 26 February 2023

The electromagnetic forecast for tonight, Monday, is that there may be another forecast tonight.

The Isle of Skye Distillers described it as “like something out of Star Wars”.

The aurora is clearly seen over Lossiemouth West Beach. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson
Northern Lights at Clashindarroch. Image: Les Walker

What are the Northern Lights?

Aurora is the name given to the light emitted when particles emitted by the sun react with the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.

Aurora

Posted by Colin J Morrison on Sunday, 26 February 2023

The charged particles are whisked toward the planet’s north and south poles by the magnetic field’s loops, which is why they are less common the closer you get to the equator.

Aurora Borealis is the name given to this phenomenon in the north – the equivalent in the southern hemisphere is called the Aurora Australis.

Amazing aurora over Inverness tonight! Thanks to Beth Jordan 🤩 We’d love to see more photos! 😃

Posted by Inverness City Centre BID on Sunday, 26 February 2023

On the Isle of Iona, the lights were captured by the warden of the Roman Catholic House of Prayer, Jane Kindlen, she described them as “a first for me”.

Susan Grant sent in her view from last night, taken in Golspie, Sutherland. Image: Susan Grant
A little more muted but still showing in Elgin. Image: David Mackay/DC Thomson
Northern Lights at Clashindarroch, Aberdeenshire. Image: Karen Walker

The lights in Whalsay, Shetland. Image: Chloe Irvine/DC Thomson

Happening right now! Over the back of the distillery the Northern Lights are giving a spectacular show. It’s like…

Posted by Isle Of Skye Distillers on Sunday, 26 February 2023

The Northern Lights were seen in Mallaig and in Inverness. Image: Pawel Cymbalista
The Northern Lights in Inverness. Image: Michelle Henderson/DC Thomson
Northern Lights at Clashindarroch. Image: Les Walker
The Northern Lights were seen in Mallaig. Image: Pawel Cymbalista
Bright sky at Clashindarroch, Aberdeenshire. Image: Karen Walker
Purple, pinks and greens as the aurora lights the sky in Rùm.  Image: Alex Mumford
Rùm. is to apply to become a dark skies island.
Starry night skies in Rùm. Image: Alex Mumford
Northern Lights at Culloden Battlefield, Inverness. Image: Amanda Grady
Northern Lights at Clashindarroch, Aberdeenshire. Image: Karen Walker

We would love to see your photos, send them to our inbox to livenews@pressandjournal.co.uk, or send them on social media.

Conversation