A Surprisingly Active Aurora over Scotland

A Surprisingly Active Aurora over Scotland

Photographer Alan C. Tough: "I wasn't too surprised to see an aurora on Saturday night but I didn't expect it to be so active."

Also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

Learn more about auroras: 
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. To the south-east Scotland has its only land border that is 96 miles (154 km) long and shared with England. The country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and south, the North Sea to the north-east and east, and the Irish Sea to the west.

Image Credit: Alan C. Tough

Location: Elgin, Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom

Alan's website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7776810@N07/
Date: Feb. 21, 2026

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