No matter how many times they appear, the amazing Aurora Borealis are always a sight to behold. Now some of the most spectacular skies to have ever been captured in Britain have been unveiled by a photographer who has taken photos of the Northern Lights for more than 20 years.
Jim Henderson, 62, has witnessed 350 aurora displays and seen some of the most impressive lights close to his rural Scotland home.
Amazingly, he has only ever had to travel more than a few miles from his cottage 25 miles west of Aberdeen to capture the dancing beams.
His images prove that you don’t need to travel thousands of miles to the freezing Icelandic tundra or to remote Canada to witness the magnificence of the Aurora Borealis.
But, as these photos prove, the incredible sight can be just as visible in the familiar British countryside as the frozen landscape of the Arctic circle.
Mr Henderson’s most awe-inspiring moments have come when the light show reached such intense levels that the corona – or crown – of the aurora completely surrounded him.
He said: ‘When the corona is above you it looks like a huge golfing umbrella with shards of pale green, blue and yellow moving lights.
‘At the top you’ve got this zenith – the apex – that has weird shapes with bright rays dropping down in all directions.
‘You can be in the centre and turn 360 degrees and it will be all around you. Everywhere you look there will be these sheets of coloured lights.
‘It’s that peculiar combination of scale and beauty combined with colours and movement that make auroras so extremely beautiful.’
That initial picture in this post is beautiful