Captain Christiaan van Heijst has captured a stunning Aurora over Canada from his Boeing 747.
Boeing 747 captain Christiaan van Heijst takes up the story of capturing the stunning Aurora.
"An unexpected display of aurora over Canada in the middle of June: who would have imagined such a sight? While traversing the solitary skies over northern Quebec, we were treated to one of the most captivating phenomena in the world—a vibrant storm of northern lights.
"What began as a faint glow on the horizon quickly transformed into a breathtaking spectacle of brilliantly coloured columns of light, reaching all the way up to space. Simultaneously, pulsating luminescent horizontal waves traversed the sky above us, heading towards some unseen southern electromagnetic shores of Earth's magnetosphere. I had never witnessed anything like it.
"We promptly dimmed the cockpit lights, silenced our chatter, and collectively embraced a state of awe and wonder as the thermospheric storm intensified above us, reaching the equivalent of a surface-level hurricane storm. Something so pure and ethereal makes one appreciate the moment like nothing else. Worries from a faraway homeland faded into the background, and the fatigue of long-haul flying was momentarily forgotten as two pairs of eyes remained glued to the windows of our cosy, pressurized cabin.
"However, the magic only enjoyed for so long; a rising sun in the east gradually overwhelmed the dancing particles around Earth's poles, which she herself had expelled a mere three days prior. It was good while it lasted, but the auroral fire gradually faded after an hour and a new day was upon us.
"Blessed to have this front-row seat to the wonders of the universe as my office."
Christiaan is one of the world’s leading aviation photographers and more of his work and close encounter (s) can be found here.
You can follow Christiaan on Instagram here: @jpcvanheijst
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