Flight Deck Aurora at 37,000 feet: View over Northern Canada

Flight Deck Aurora at 37,000 feet: View over Northern Canada

Photographer Matt Melnyk: "While flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Calgary, Canada, to London, UK last night, we were treated to an incredible aurora display from 37,000 feet. The aurora first became visible as we crossed northern Manitoba and continued as we flew over Hudson Bay. What started as a bright green glow developed into enormous bands and curtains of aurora stretching across the sky and directly overhead. From our altitude, the view was spectacular. With very little atmosphere or light pollution between us and the display, the stars were incredibly prominent and the aurora appeared to stretch far into the distance above the cloud-covered Earth. The show lasted for approximately three hours, giving us an extraordinary view as we continued northeast toward the Atlantic. At times, huge bands of green aurora filled much of the sky, with structure and movement clearly visible. After months of bright summer nights limiting aurora viewing on our transatlantic flights, it was fantastic to finally see the northern lights return to the night sky—and this was quite a way to welcome them back." 

Known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

Learn more about auroras: 
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the second-largest country by total area with the longest coastline of any country. Its border with the United States is the longest international land border.

Image Credit: Matt Melnyk
Locations: Northern Manitoba and Hudson Bay

Matt's website: https://www.melnykphotos.com
Date: Sept. 22, 2026

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