An amateur photographer captured this amazing picture of the Milky Way as it lights up the night sky above a lighthouse.
Dad-of-two Peter Ribbeck, 50, snapped the picture at Turnberry Lighthouse, South Ayrshire, after waiting for the perfect darkness. He had to climb down onto the shoreside rocks in the dark to get the right angle showing the Milky Way rising behind the lighthouse.
Peter, who works at a yacht marina, waited until 11.30pm to get the shot, which he captured while standing on a rock with his tripod as the waves lapped around his feet.
Peter, from West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, said: "I had to wait for the moon and sun to set and for the sky to darken enough, which meant being in the right spot after 11:30pm. I knew the Milky Way was going to appear in the night sky to the south which meant climbing down onto the shoreside rocks in the dark to get the angle I wanted.
"The Milky Way continually moves through the sky during the night as the earth rotates which meant I would have to be quick to get my shot before losing the composition.
"I had to stand with my tripod on top of a rock in the darkness, on a rising tide, with the waves lapping around my feet waiting for the Milky Way to move into position.
"At the time my mind was fully fixed on camera settings to really appreciate the image that I had captured.
"The nights are very short this time of year, so I had to be quick.
"The constant thought of the clouds closing in at any point was never far from my mind either.
"It wasn't until I got home and downloaded the pictures onto my computer that I managed to really appreciate what I had caught."
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