Another spectacular Northern Lights show over Badenoch

This stunning shot of the weekend's aurora borealis was caught by Michael Chappell, of The Apiary in Dalwhinnie.

There were plenty of opportunities across the strath's vast skies to catch some awesome shots of the phenomenon and lots did.

The northern lights were spotted across much of Scotland on Sunday night in an especially brilliant display.

Astronomers reported a sudden spike in solar activity and gave enthusiasts the length and breadth of the country an aurora "red alert" early in the evening.

One observer explained: "Activity on the sun has been increasing over the last few years and is expected to peak this year which means the aurora becomes more frequent."

The sudden spike in solar activity was most prominent around 5pm on Sunday evening when the "red alert" was issued by AuroraWatch UK - an organisation from the University of Lancaster that monitors solar activity.

If you have some that you are proud of please feel free to send them along.

Loch Insh Outdoor Centre has been leading regular sky-watching nights recently, where Jonny Freshwater explained: "It's becoming incredibly popular, especially with kids who really do want to learn about what's going on Up There. Anyone who wants to know more about our sessions should just contact us at the centre, any time."

But now is the best time to catch the aurora, which is known to manifest itself most clearly between March and September.

What is it? It's a shower of charged particles from the sun hitting gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, in a similar way to how fluorescent light tubes and neon signs work.

They occur around the North Pole when the solar wind carrying the particles interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Green is the most common colour, which occurs when the particles hit oxygen in the lower atmosphere. Red appears when the particles hit oxygen in the upper atmosphere, while blue or purple occur when nitrogen is involved.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.