Spectacular Aurora Borealis Dazzles Skies Across Scotland

Striking red and green skies have been seen across Scotland as the Aurora Borealis lit up the sky nationwide. The aurora - also known as the Northern Lights - appear as bright, swirling curtains of light in the night sky and range in colour from green to pink and scarlet. The phenomenon was seen widely across Scotland on Monday, from Orkney in the north all the way to the Borders. It is caused by charged particles from the sun hitting gases in the Earth's atmosphere. What are the Northern Lights? The two most common gases in the Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen. Oxygen atoms glow green - the colour most often seen in the Northern Lights, while nitrogen atoms emit purple, blue and pink. The most impressive auroras occur when the Sun emits really large clouds of particles called "coronal mass ejections". Have you seen the Northern Lights. You can submit your pictures to BBC Weather Watchers or to scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk. Please ensure you adhere to the BBC's rules on photography that can be found here. In contributing to BBC News you agree to grant us a royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to publish and otherwise use the material in any way, including in any media worldwide. However, you will still own the copyright to everything you contribute to BBC News. At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe the law. You can find more information here. All photos are subject to copyright.