THESE stunning pictures capture the rare moment the Milky Way was seen through the clear night sky – against the backdrop of the Northern Lights.

Sylvan Buckley, 46, snapped the Aurora Borealis on the Isle of Arran as the glowing yellow and red lights could be seen beneath the Milky Way core.

Buckley, from Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, jumped on a ferry to the island after reading the skies would be clear on September 7.

He hiked up North Goatfell on the island hoping to capture pictures of the Milky Way but was amazed when he saw the Northern Lights appear in the sky.

Buckley said: “I took out my camera ready to take some photos of the Milky Way core and I noticed a little bit of light over to the north out of the corner of my eye. I knew straight away that this would’ve been the Northern Lights.”