People across Scotland were set to see one of the most spectacular colourful shows of the Northern Lights.

Two dramatic solar storms have created this display, which is usually witnessed in the far north, but on Wednesday night the phenomenon should have been visible as far south as Southern Scotland.

The sun has been pretty quiet for the best part of a century, but that all changed on Sunday when astronomers around the world witnessed a solar flare above a giant sunspot the size of the Earth.

At the same time a large filament of cool gas stretching across the Sun's northern hemisphere exploded. The filament was 50 times larger than the Earth and its contents were spewed into space, producing a cloud of electrically charged particles known as a coronal mass ejection.

The two events have combined to produce a “solar tsunami” that is racing 93 million miles across space directly towards the Earth.

Later on, this solar blast of supercharged gas will meet the natural magnetic shield protecting the Earth, sparking spectacular displays of the Northern Lights.

Normally the lights are only visible closer to the Arctic or Antarctic, but solar storms pull them further south, so rippling curtains of green and red light may be seen in Scotland.

STV's weather forecaster Sean Batty said: “The best places for spotting the Northern Lights tonight will be in the east and the south of the country, with some of the best spots likely to be Perthshire, Moray, Aberdeenshire and the Borders.

"In the West, mainly Argyll and the North West Highlands and Inner and Outer Hebrides will hang on to largely cloudy skies and therefore will be unlikely to see any activity in tonight’s skies."

Have you got any pictures or video of the Northern Lights above Scotland. Email the newsdesk and we'll publish the best images.