AURORA-WATCHERS have been rewarded with a spectacular display of the Northern Lights in dark spots across the country.
Members of The Glasgow Times Camera Club, The National's sister paper, were keen to photograph the rare sighting - and managed to capture amazing pictures.
The photographers took shots from East Kilbride to Loch Lomond and Ayrshire, between 10am and 1am last night.
VisitScotland explains that the spectacle is named after Aurora (the Roman goddess of dawn) and Boreas (the Greek name for north wind), and is caused by charged particles accelerated into the Earth's upper atmosphere along magnetic field lines.
The energy to drive the display is provided by the sun, in the form of a "solar wind". The sun may be millions and millions of miles away, but it is the reason we see the extraordinary sight.
Aurorae come in all colours, shapes and patterns, setting the night sky alive with rainbows of light.
The variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding, from yellowish-greens, blues and purples, to fiery reds and oranges.
The streaks that snake across the night sky evolve and change constantly, and can last minutes or merely seconds.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here