Experience Unforgettable Holidays with aurora retreats neistpoint isle of skye Photo Gallery

 Named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas, the incredible spectacle that is the Aurora Borealis is caused by charged particles accelerated into the upper atmosphere of Earth along the magnetic field lines. The energy that causes this display comes from the sun’s solar wind.  It may be a surprise to you, but northern Scotland actually lies at the same latitude as Stavanger in Norway and Nunivak Island in Alaska, which means that you’re in with a good chance of spotting them. Autumn and winter seasons, with their long periods of darkness and the frequency of clear nights, are probably the best time of the year to experience the displays. Nights need to be cold and the sky clear of clouds, with limited light pollution and increased solar activity. 

The Northern Lights can appear in many different colours  setting the night sky aglow. Variations in colour are due to different types of gas particles colliding in the atmosphere, here’s a quick guide to why you see certain colours:

• Red – we don’t see this colour in The Northern Lights very often, it is usually associated with intense solar activity. The reds appear when solar particles interact with oxygen at the higher altitudes, generally higher than 150 miles.
• Yellow & Pink – a very rare occurrence that is associated with very high solar activity because they are a mixture of red with green or blue.
• Green Shades – most commonly seen as solar particles generally collide with the Earth’s atmosphere at between 60 and 105 miles from the surface where there are high concentrations of oxygen. When the oxygen at this level becomes ‘excited’ it makes the Aurora appear green. The human eye is also highly tuned to detect shades of green, contributing to this being the most commonly seen Aurora colour.
• Blue/Purple – these less commonly seen colours usually appear when solar activity is high and solar particles are in our atmosphere below an altitude of 60 miles. At this height the reaction is with nitrogen, causing the blue or purple colours.

Isle of Skye is one of the top locations to see the northern lights and we are situated in the north west of Skye in Glendale where we have little light pollution enabling you to see the northern lights directly from aurora retreats 3  directly from the bed looking through the large picture window or from the decking area . Aurora 1 and 2 you can take in the display from the decking area .The Aurora Borealis is most commonly seen during the Autumn and Winter months when the nights are longer and cloudless skies are more likely. OCT TO MARCH

The photos above were taken in November 2023 straight over aurora retreats accommodation on the  isle of skye and the surrounding night sky with a normal iphone