A KEEN Scots photographer captured a stunning image of the Northern Lights at midnight in the Outer Hebrides.
Paul Little returned back home in North Uist shortly before 12pm on Wednesday evening and was alerted to an amber aurora notice on his phone.
The 41-year-old, who also works in hospitality, quickly grabbed his camera and tripod and went to the nearby shoreline where he spotted the spectacular sight.
A breathtaking image shows the entire sky lit up by vibrant pink and purple shades over the island.
The colour has reflected directly on the water below alongside bright pillars of light beaming down from the sky.
Low clouds have also been illuminated by the green hue of the Aurora Borealis in the mesmerising snap.
Paul shared the image on social media yesterday where viewers were blown away by the captured moment.
He wrote: “The second I got home from work last night, at the back of 11pm, an amber alert pinged up on the phone.
“I grabbed the camera and went round the corner to the wee road up to Baleshare.
“Decent wee show last night.”
The post has been liked almost 500 times and attracted dozens of comments from impressed Scots.
Jennifer Hampson said: “Absolutely stunning, thank you.
“If it wasn’t for these websites I’d never see anything like this, thank you.”
Catriona NicDhomhnaill said: “Beautiful, you pinched my spot though.
“I saw the alert but I was working today so unfortunately I gave it a miss.”
Rachel Anderson said: “Absolutely beautiful.
“What a privilege to witness, lucky you.”
Susan Khan said: “Would love to experience that.
“One of these days hopefully, thanks for sharing.”
Jim McKie added: “Absolutely breathtaking.
“Here in Livingston, we don’t even see the Milky Way.”
Speaking today, Paul said: “I had been keeping an eye on the stats that day.
“As soon as I got home my phone notified me of an amber alert, I went straight back out and around the corner from my house here in North Uist.
“When I was driving home I could see the glow in the horizon which was a good indication that something was happening.
“So I grabbed my camera and tripod, popped round the corner where it’s pitch black, the street lights here go out at 11:20pm putting my area on the island in total darkness which for me is ideal.
“It peaked at midnight.
“I could also see the pillars in the horizon too at this point with the naked eye.”
The Aurora Borealis are often experienced in more northern parts of the UK as particles from the sun are attracted to the magnetic pole.
The colours are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with the earth’s upper atmosphere.
The particles cause a change in atoms of the upper atmosphere which release light as they return to their normal state.
The colours of the natural phenomenon change depending on the atoms involved, with oxygen being responsible for the most common green colour.
A similar phenomenon, the Aurora Australis, is visible in the southern hemisphere.
