Pilot Christiaan van Heijst captures dramatic snap of Northern Lights

Boeing 747 pilot Christiaan van Heijst has captured this amazing photo of the Northern Lights and the moon.

He explained: “Northern lights and a bright moon over a cloud-covered Greenland.

“Once the human eyes are adjusted to the lack of light, there is just so much to see outside the cockpit windows.

“Thousands of stars, meteors in all sorts of colours, aurora dancing vividly and the silver-blue light of the Moon casting shadows and depth on the cloudscapes for as far as the eyes can see. A serene and natural spectacle that is only visible for a handful of pilots this night.”

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The Dutch pilot said he often wondered about the thoughts of the first people to witness the Northern Lights.

“Fear? Awe? Curiosity? Or perhaps a mixture of all of them. Having no knowledge to explain their presence or nature, I can imagine the aurora must have been of divine origin to them; a manifestation of their old Gods and the new,” he said.

“Today we know that the aurora is caused by charged particles from the Sun that get caught in the Earth’s magnetic field.

“(It’s) a rather boring and factual statement, though it doesn’t take away the fascinating nature of the lights. An enchanting display of one of the most beautiful manifestations of nature and that always leaves me excited when I see them in person.”

Christiaan is one of the world’s leading aviation photographers.

You can follow Christiaan on Instagram here: @jpcvanheij