Incredible images show fireballs streaking across Scotland's skies at the SAME time as the Northern Lights

  • Three photographers were able to capture these stunning photos on the Isle of Skye, Salen Bay and the Isle of Lewis
  • The first image is a different fireball- meaning there were two or more within 50 miles of each other at the same time
  • The Northern Lights are created when particle streams from the sun crash into atoms high up in the atmosphere
  • Nasa expects the best displays of the Northern Lights will happen in December when solar activity is at its peak

By Ellie Zolfagharifard

PUBLISHED: 07:25 EST, 18 October 2013 | UPDATED: 09:56 EST, 18 October 2013

As if seeing the Northern Lights wasn't special enough, Scotland has also been treated to rare displays of fireballs streaking across its skies this week.

One of the fireballs was seen lighting up the sky above Sligachan on the Isle of Skye.

The rare event was accidentally captured by landscape photographer Marcus McAdam, who has been working on a time lapse video showing a year on Skye condensed into minutes.

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A fireball

A fireball is seen lighting up the sky above Sligachan on the Isle of Skye. The rare event was accidentally captured by landscape photographer Marcus McAdam, who has been working on a time lapse video showing a year on Skye condensed into minutes

Recently, Mr McAdam set his camera to record the stars over the Cuillin Mountains overnight.

Describing what he discovered the next day, Mr McAdam said: ‘As I was loading the images onto my computer, one thumbnail stood out as being quite different to the others, so I enlarged it and saw a huge streak across the sky’.

 

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Unsure what he had captured, he asked his Facebook followers and they pointed to a news story about reports of a fireball seen in the sky.

Amazingly, he has since discovered that the phenomenon he recorded was a different fireball - meaning there two within 50 miles of each other at around the same time. 

This incredible picture by Ewan Miles

This incredible picture by Ewan Miles shows the Northern Lights being illuminated by a fireball (diagonal streak, far mid right) in Salen Bay near the east of Ardnamurchan Point in the north of Scotland

Mr McAdam said: ‘I've since learnt that this is an extremely rare event, and even rarer to be photographed, as the whole thing happens in less than a second.’

Other images were captured by amateur photographers Ewan Miles and Byron Griffiths in the west Highlands on Monday night.

Mr Miles’ snaps were taken from Salen Bay, east of Ardnamurchan Point, when the shooting light suddenly flew through the atmosphere.

He said: ‘The solar winds were blowing on and off all throughout the night and visible through the breaks in the cloud.

‘A huge fireball was a real highlight, which lit up the surrounding landscape for a couple of seconds as it burnt through our atmosphere.

Fireball

Byron Griffiths took this spectacular pictures while out waiting for the Aurora Borealis to show above the Isle of Lewis. The photo was taken at around about half past eight on Monday night. He said: 'I was out to try and photograph the Aurora Borealis and by nothing more than luck the fireball appeared and fell through the field of view of the camera'

‘It was the biggest one I have ever seen and there were plenty of other meteors showing, which could be part of the annual Orionid (corr) shower.’

Byron Griffiths took his spectacular pictures while out waiting for the Aurora Borealis to show above the Isle of Lewis.

He said: ‘The photo was taken at around about half past eight on Monday night.

‘I was out to try and photograph the Aurora Borealis and by nothing more than luck the fireball appeared and fell through the field of view of the camera.’

The Northern Lights are created when particle streams from the sun crash into atoms high up in the atmosphere.

A young Amish boy on his way to work

Earlier this month, a powerful solar flare directed at Earth has put on majestic display of the northern lights across parts of Canada, the U.S and Ireland. This image shows a young Amish boy on his way to work at 4:30am looking at the light show on Fuller Road in Easton, Maine. The image was captured by 61-year-old photographer Paul Cyr

The effects are greater at the magnetic poles and weaken as they move south from the Arctic or north of the Antarctic.

The intensity and frequency of Northern Lights activity is governed by solar cycles that lasts for 11 years.

Nasa scientists have predicted that the current period of solar activity will reach a new peak in December.

On an official NASA video, Todd Hoeksema, the Director of the Wilcox Solar Observatory at Stanford University, said that by December there should be what is termed a ‘solar flip’.

This is when the conditions for viewing the lights would be at their best.

Earlier this month, a powerful solar flare directed at Earth has put on majestic display of the northern lights across parts of Canada, the U.S and Ireland. 

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I cant believe this, i saw this on monday night too, from London, i thought it was perhaps left overs from the Dragonoid Meteor shower but clearly im wrong!! :O

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Scotland is actually the best country in the uk and i am English see why they want independence

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The Northern Lights 'illuminated by a fireball'...it makes one weep this science page

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A science writer being let down by a picture caption writer, as usual. Although the meteor in that pic seems not nearly bright enough to be a fireball.

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Wow!

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Prove to me that it was not the ISS which made two bright passes over Scotland on 14/10/13 and then I may believe it was a fireball. At the moment I think the "explosion" at about 8:30 was just atmospheric diffraction.

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Prove to me it's not the ISS which made two very bright passes over Scotland in the early evening of 14/10/13. 19:23 and 20:58.

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its a sign,mr salmon will win

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Fireballs? Haha. The intelligence of DM journos knows no bounds.

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You look like an IRA man circa 1975, either that or some kind of fetishist. You post absolute carp as well.

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Everytime I see pictures like this I melt like a cool customer with a warmed heart.

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It could of been a sundog as it does look like one, I saw one (a sundog) about three weeks ago over the Erewash valley (Notts/Derbys border) and wished I'd had my camera on me as no one else seemed to have seen it, truly amazing phenomenon.

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Sundog? Eh?? Not a chance. For a sundog you need to have this thing called a sun, which tends not to appear at the same time as stars!! Plus sundogs don't leave behind a trail of vapour...

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Could OF? I rather think you mean "Could HAVE" or, if you were feeling particularly slovenly; "Could've"

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