It's not very often that people living in and around Glasgow are afforded the chance to witness the Aurora Borealis aka Northern Lights dancing above the city illuminating the night sky - and that's not just because more often than not it seems we find ourselves living under a near permanent cloud.
But one man was treated to the most amazing light show at Loch Lomond last weekend amid a period of geomagnetic activity that saw the Northern Lights alert level reach amber in Scotland last night - meaning that aurora was 'likely' to be visible by eye from Scotland according to AuroraWatch UK.
Keen amateur photographer John Waddington took the incredible snaps from Duck Bay on the lochside on Sunday and Wednesday last week, having monitored the conditions for a couple of days.
And so bright were the Northern Lights ("the brightest I have ever seen" according to John) that he could even see them reflected on to the waters of Loch Lomond by eye.
Speaking to Glasgow Live, he said: "I have had an interest in the Northern Lights from a young age ever since seeing pictures of them as a child. I'm now a keen amateur photographer too. I had been monitoring the conditions for a couple of days when suddenly everything aligned and a display looked possible.
"I headed down to Loch Lomond (Duck Bay) and I was lucky enough to catch displays on 23 and 25 of September. This display was caused by a coronal hole in the suns corona, these holes appear when the suns magnetic field becomes open to space, this allows streams of high speed solar wind (energized charged particles) to reach the earths atmosphere, these streams can cause mild to moderate geomagnetic storms. When these particles collide with the gases in our earths atmosphere they cause them to admit light. Solar flares can also cause auroras, sometimes the most impressive.
"These displays can appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet are also possible".
And as someone who knows a fair bit about the Lights, John likes to remind folk that, like him, people here in Scotland can take in the planet's most amazing light show on rare occassions.
"You don't have to venture to Scandinavia or Iceland to catch the lights! However you need three things to coincide: solar activity, a clear night and darkness (no moon). Getting all three is the tricky part! The display on 25 September was particularly impressive with the colours and 'rays' being visible by eye although in a more pastel form, however you need to know where to look with these relatively minor displays.
"It is imperative that you are facing north, stood well away from any light pollution (no full moons!) and know when to look (plenty of good apps available) oh yes and plenty of patience and warm clothes!. The longer you let your eyes adjust to the darkness the more you will see too, everybody's colour spectrum can vary though with some people just seeing them as white displays.
"If you want to photograph displays the best way is to use a long exposure, high iso and a wide aperture, the camera will always pick up more than the eye due to these long exposure times.
"When you have seen or photographed a display you will be addicted! It's a truly magical experience and one you will never tire of! Sleep is overrated any way..!"
