Scots were dazzled by a spectacular display of the Northern Lights on Sunday evening.

The aurora borealis was seen across the country, and many social media users shared their pictures of the light show.

The Aurora Borealis was visible as skies cleared, painting the night sky green, purple and blue. It is usually only seen in the far north of Scotland.

But what causes the Northern Lights and why does it occasionally show itself in such remarkable fashion?

STV Weatherman Sean Batty has the answer.

"The sun gives out a constant solar wind, which moves away from the sun at around 200mph, but sometimes huge flares will accelerate this wind to over 500mph and release energy equivalent to many millions of volcanic eruptions," Sean explains.

"If the flare from the sun is directed towards earth these fast moving charged particles smash into our magnetic field , which is our protective shield from all the harmful radiation in space.

"Most of these electrically charged particles are deflected by the magnetic field but some are drawn into the polar regions and make it into the upper atmosphere, this is where the magic happens.

"Flares increase the concentration in particles over the poles and as they start to collide with the oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere they can emit enough light for the eye to detect, giving us beautiful auroral displays. The way the aurora works is very similar to how we get light from a neon sign. The tubes are filled with gas which glows once it is ‘excited’ by electrical charge."

Sean says: "The aurora, the northern lights or as they are sometimes referred to in Scotland, the merry dancers, lit up the night sky last night after the solar wind picked up creating a geomagnetic storm around earth."

"The colour of the aurora depends upon how fast the electrons are moving, or how much energy they have at the time of their collisions. High energy electrons will make oxygen particles give off a green light, which is the most common colour of the aurora.

"Low energy electrons will give off a red colour, and if the electrons come into contact with nitrogen then a blue light is given off. All the colours can mix to give purples, pinks, and whites."

"Last night’s display was rather unexpected, but came from an accelerated solar wind.

"Aurora levels are measured against a 9 point scale called the Kp-index. Last night was a level 7, which is a strong storm and means it’s possible to see the northern lights are far south as southern England and central Germany.

"Tonight is forecast to drop back to a level 3 which means aurora may only be visible tonight across Shetland. If levels do go higher than predicted, the best place to be would be the north east of Scotland where skies will remain clearest, cloud and rain is expected in the west."