A mother's dream of seeing and photographing the spectacular northern lights has come true - from hills above Rochdale.
Leandra Rawlinson didn't even wait to get dressed, jumping in her car in her pyjamas for the 10-minute drive from her Milnrow home to Blackstone Edge where she witnessed the amazing aurora borealis for the first time.
Leandra, 35, whose two-year-old daughter is called Aurora, has previous visited Scotland to try to see the incredible natural show but missed out.
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"We went up there with the intention of seeing them, but missed it by a day," she said. "After that, I downloaded an app which sends out alerts as to when the northern lights can be seen.
"It was about 11pm on Friday night when my phone pinged, informing me that the light show had started. I didn't even get dressed. I went out in my pajamas and went to pick my mum up in Littleborough and went to Blackstone Edge to see them.
"We were so excited, it was amazing."
And Leandra was not disappointed. Her iPhone picked up the superb spectacle and she has shared the view with the Manchester Evening News.
After also posting her pictures on Facebook she has been congratulated on the quality of the photos.
The northern lights, or the aurora borealis, are beautiful dancing waves of light that have captivated people for millennia.
Energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet's magnetic field protects Earth from the onslaught.
As Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles — there are southern lights, too — unleashing a cinematic atmospheric phenomenon that dazzles and fascinates scientists and skywatchers alike.
