Meteors are easier to spot with darker nights
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A meteor shower sparked fears a large aircraft was crashing into the sea off the Hebrides.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency in Stornoway received dozens of calls on Friday night about a fireball falling from the sky.
Lifeboat crews in the Western Isles were alerted as emergency services prepared for a large scale disaster.
However, the cause of the fireball was linked to meteor shower Kappa Cygnid which peaked at the weekend.
A coastguard spokesman said: "We received numerous 999 calls with around 40 alone on Friday night.
"People were reporting seeing something like a plane going down with a tail of smoke behind it.
"It would have been a shooting star from meteor activity."
Five meteors
The spokesman added: "We discussed the situation with RAF Kinloss and other sources and concluded it was meteor activity."
Kappa Cygnid is active between 15-22 August.
Five meteors can be seen in an hour but it can also result in bright yellow-blue fireballs, according to the British Astronomical Association's website.
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