The Northern Lights - you don't need to go abroad to see them!

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are famous as a natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high latitudes towards the arctic. But they are not unknown to be visible from the UK particularly in the far north of Scotland, and the remoter islands. They've even been seen from the Lake District, Wales and Exmoor.

Occurring at night during the winter months, the Lights are created from a collision between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the atmosphere of the earth.

The display has been described as being like a celestial ballet of light dancing across the night sky, with a colour palette of green, blue, pink, and violet. The Northern Lights are the visible manifestation of Earth's protective magnetic shield which is essential to protect life from the sun's destructive radiation. Similar light shows have been observed at the poles of other planets in the solar system.

The Northern Lights have been seen throughout the UK – even as far south as Kent and Cornwall - but Scotland remains the best place to see them in the UK, given its closer proximity to the North Pole.

The most likely places to view the spectacle are the Scottish Highlands and Scottish Isles. The isolation of the Highlands and remote Isles from sources of light pollution makes them ideal (and stunning) locations from which to view auroras, which are seen almost regularly from some spots.

The same phenomenon occurs in the southern hemisphere - known there as the Southern Lights or the aurora australis.