Our Dark Skies

Rising over Morvern - Taken from Loch Sunart Shore, Rockpool House, Resipole, Sunart

The moon and a small dot that is Jupiter, rise over the distant peak of Fuar Bheinn, both golden as the light from them is scattered by airborne dust particles in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Golden Moonrise - Loch Sunart, Rockpool House, Resipole, Sunart

The moon, low on the horizon, rising over Loch Sunart and turned golden as the light from it is scattered by airborne dust particles in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Lyrid Over Resipole - Resipole Farm Holiday Park, Resipole, Sunart

Early in the morning of Sunday 22nd April 2018 a meteor from the Lyrid meteor shower, made from falling debris from comet Thatcher, streaks across the sky above Ben Resipole and Loch Sunart, following the line of the Milky Way.

The Way Home - Uileann, Ardtornish Estate, Morven

The Milky Way arches over distant aurora and the road that would take me to my home on the shore of Loch Sunart after a great few hours of photographing the stars and the Northern Lights over in Morvern.

Meet Steve - Camas Allt a’ Choire, Loch Arienas, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern

A STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), or Sub-auroral Arc, dances in the western sky above Loch Arienas during a fantastic show of Northern Lights.

To the Lights - Loch Arienas, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern

The old fish-farm jetty at Camas Allt a' Choire leads the way out to the Northern Lights across a green Loch Arienas.

The Keep and the Stars - Kinlochaline Castle, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern

Kinlochaline Castle, a 12th-century fortress on Ardtornish Estate, sits under a starry sky by the bridge over the River Aline while Northern Lights illuminate the sky to the north.

River Lights - River Aline, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern

A time to pause when crossing the bridge over the River Aline by Kinlochaline Castle, to look up the river and take in the sight of the Northern Lights.

The Big House - Ardtornish House, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern

Ardtornish House makes quite an impression on you, especially when you see it sitting under a starry sky lit up by the Northern Lights. Completed in 1891, it replaced a smaller house that was completed only 25 years before. If you look closely, you can see the clock tower from original house.

Beyond the Boathouse - Loch Aline, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern

The still waters of Loch Aline, lit up green by the Northern Lights up in the sky beyond the old boathouse at Ardtornish Estate.

Emerging Stars - Loch Aline, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern

The stars of the night sky begin to emerge above the old boathouse on Loch Aline about 15 minutes after the start of astronomical twilight. The three stars of Orion’s Belt are clearly visible up to the left of the boat house and the Seven Sisters star cluster is visible up and to the right.

Golden Moon - Sailean Dubh, Ardtoe, Ardnamurchan

An almost full moon begins to its transformation from white, to orange, to red as it falls towards the horizon a way out to the west and casts wonderful golden light on the sea at Ardtoe.

Cut Off - Castle Tioram. Doirlinn, Moidart

On a clear night in January, the Milky Way tracks from south to north over Castle Tioram, which has been cut off by a high, high tide that occurred a few days after a Supermoon.

Moidart Reflections - Loch Moidart by Castle Tioram. Doirlinn, Moidart

On a still, clear night in January, the stars of the night sky are reflected in the mirror-like waters of Loch Moidart between Riska Island and the western flank of Sgriobaid Dubh.

Quadrantid - Corran Lighthouse, Corran, Ardgour

Just after five o'clock on the morning of 28 December 2017, a shooting star from the Quadrantids meteor shower flies across the sky above the Corran lighthouse. This would be one of the first, as this meteor shower starts on the 28 December and peaks on 4 January.

Winter Triangle I - Camus Shallachain, Sallachan, Ardgour

The Winter Triangle, made up of three bright stars in three prominent winter constellations sits astride of the Milky Way above the Eastern flank of Beinn Leamhain. Theses stars are Procyon (top) in Canis Minor, Betelgeuse in Orion (middle right) and Sirius (bottom) in Canis Major constellation.

Road to the Stars - Kentra Moss, Kentra Ardnamurchan

Looking back to a snow-capped Ben Resipole on the road from Ardtoe at the Newton of Ardtoe Junction with the Milky Way in the distance.

Red Phone Box I - Gobshealach, Kentra Moss, Ardnamurchan

A solitary phone box sits out on its own on Kentra Moss, under the cloud and stars of a cold winter night.

Reach For The Stars I - Sailean nan Cuileag, Salen, Ardnamurchan

The night sky, full of stars and with the streak of the Milky Way showing through a canopy of Scots Pines.

Magical Mushroom III - Sailean nan Cuileag, Salen, Ardnamurchan

One of the carved wooden mushrooms that can be found in the woods around Sailean nan Cuileag (The Bay of Flies), sits capped with snow under a clear and cold night sky to create a quite simply magical scene.