Sky on Fire.
A firey show of the northern lights has been captured over Quebec by 747 Captain Christiaan van Heijst.
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Christiaan van Heijst a 747 captain takes up the story of the encounter with the northern lights.
A thick mantle of clouds covered northern Quebec like a blanket, blocking a spectacular view for those on the ground.
Far above, a 747 is pulling contrails on her passage to another part of the planet while a lucky Dutch pilot is enjoying the view. A fiery show of northern lights danced above our heads for nearly seven hours straight while a dim part of the Milky Way Galaxy is shining through the dancing and luminescent green veil.
Countless glowing dots, each representing an entire solar system with planets, moons and only God knows what else. Perhaps even a lone pilot cruising from an off-world colony back to home base with his M-class star freighter, gazing at the same Milky Way and pondering about the same ideas.
We’ve counted twenty meteors tonight, more commonly known as shooting stars. Some green, others white or orange. From tiny trails of light to massive fireballs as they burn up on their way through the atmosphere. Magnificent.
The sheer dimension of the scenery beyond is simply incomprehensible and humbling, making me feel deeply appreciative of being where I am in life. And just like that, I can almost hear Johnny Cash singing the last verse of the song Highwayman:
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Christiaan is one of the world’s leading aviation photographers and more of his work and more close encounter (s) can be found here.
You can follow Christiaan on Instagram here: @jpcvanheijst
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