Scotland might get another chance to see the spectacular aurora borealis this evening and Friday evening.

With clearer skies than last week's forecast, resulting in Denmark and Germany getting good sightings, there are hopes that the colourful night sky phenomenon might return to these parts - after a spectacular showing earlier this year.

Krista Hammond, from the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre, said: "Minor solar storms are possible on Thursday and Friday night, which means aurora sightings would be possible in northern Scotland under clear skies.

"As this is a fairly minor solar storm, the auroras aren't expected to be visible much further south on this occasion."

The two primary gases in the Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen, and these elements provide the different colours which we can see during an aurora display. The green we see in the aurora is characteristic of oxygen, while hints of purple, blue or pink materialise in the night sky due to nitrogen.

The best places to try and catch the aurora is away from light pollution where there are darker skies with Portencross being a particular popular spot among stargazers.