An Edinburgh hill-walker was left in awe after noticing a rare phenomenon that appeared in the distance over the weekend.
John Mowbray was out for a run up the Pentlands on Sunday morning and when he reached the top of the South Black Hill, he was met with a rare spectacle which is known as the Brocken spectre.
To the untrained eye, this appears like a mini rainbow in the distance, with what looks like a figure in the centre of its halo.
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As it is so rare and naturally beautiful, John filmed the phenomenon before making his way back down the hill.
A fellow climber alerted John to the spectre as he had never come across it before on his travels, but was extremely grateful that he got to witness it for the first time on such a clear morning.
John said: "I went for a run early on Sunday morning up the Pentlands. It was a beautiful sunny morning with clear blue sky but a wee bit of cloud.
"Cloud inversion was present on the tops of the hills and when I got to the top of the South Black Hill another runner told me about the Brocken spectre. I've never seen one before but I have heard of them. I chatted with the other runner and thanked him.
"If he hadn't of pointed it out then I may have just ran by it. It was really cool to see for the first time. If you stand with your back to the sun facing the spectre, you get a little shadow of yourself inside the rainbow halo. There are lots of legends and myths about how these shadows have been interpreted as mysterious beings and angels in ancient times."
The Met Office say that the Broken spectre is named after the German hill on which it was first sighted, back in 1780.
They say: "Named after the German mountain on which is was first noted, a Brocken spectre is a large shadow of an observer cast onto cloud or mist.
"When an observer stands on a hill which is partially enveloped in mist and in such a position that their shadow is thrown on to the mist, they may get the illusion that the shadow is a person seen dimly through the mist. The illusion is that this person or 'spectre' is gigantic and at a considerable distance away from them."
Although many who have climbed hills such as the famous Pentlands will have spotted this phenomenon in the past, it certainly is a beautiful sight for those who are yet to gaze upon it.
