Ayrshire coast lit up by aurora borealis spectacular

West Kilbride evening class astronomy lecturer Alec MacKinnon hailed last night's northern lights display as one of the best in Scotland since 2003.

There were spectacular sights captured across the town including Largs Pier, Barrfields Park and from around the town, as well as Fairlie bay, Millport and West Kilbride.

Stunning sight at Largs Pier (Image: Francesca Pearce)

The colourful lights shimmering in the sky had started appearing at 8pm and lasted throughout the evening to beyond midnight, with people getting away from street lighting to avoid light pollution. The lights could be seen with the naked eye from Largs seafront.

Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind, and can take many forms and colours. 

Stunning sight from Wemyss Bay Caravan Park (Image: David MacKinnon)

The Perseids meteor shower happens as Earth passes through a cloud of dust from comets.

That dust collides with the atmosphere, lights up, and leaves a trail that can be watched through the sky.

The brightness and intensity of the aurora meant that it could be seen all over the UK.

West Kilbride (Image: Geraldine Hobbs) Island was lit up by greens and reds (Image: Todd Ferguson) Red sky at night from Largs (Image: Jo Findlayson) Looking back: Marc De Ridder captured this marvellous shot from Inellan (Image: Marc De Ridder)