Northern Lights, 'Moonbows' Lit up the Scottish Skies in a Rare Treat. Check Out the Marvelous Photos

The magical natural phenomenon of northern lights, which are most commonly found in Norway and Sweden, have made a surprise appearance in Scotland and that too with a twist.

The Scots were in for a surprise on Tuesday night when the aurora borealis lit up the Scottish skies along with moonbows. Lunar rainbows are a rare optical phenomenon that is caused when water droplets in the air refract the light from the moon.

We have all heard and probably seen what a rainbow looks like, however unlike appearing in daylight with the help of sun rays the moonbow is a night-time phenomenon.

Pictures from Scotland’s night sky took the internet by storm as netizens were amazed by this rare sight.

One user, who was in Scotland to experience the phenomena, wrote on Twitter, “I've been lucky tonight. After 11 attempts, my first success. #AuroraBorealis in #Scotland Northern lights, good night.” Another user wrote, “Magical dance above Dunollie Castle, Oban tonight. We’re so lucky to have such a night time sight to enjoy here in Scotland.”

BBC Highlands also shared the images of the double moonbows in Scotland which left the tweeple in awe of the rare appearance of northern lights and the moonbows. BBC weather presenter Simon King quote tweeted, “Wow wow wow! This has blown me away, you've got to see this. This is incredible... Aurora and moonbows. Soooo rare to capture both together”

While some said they did not even know of any such phenomena until they saw the pictures. “That’s cool, I didn’t know there was such a thing as lunar rainbow.”

The Northern Lights are linked to activity on the surface of the Sun. The aurora is caused by the interaction of solar wind - a stream of charged particles escaping the Sun - and Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. On a day when weather conditions are favourable, Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland offer some of the best locations to observe the aurora.