‘The most incredible display of aurora I’ve ever seen in my 20 years of flying’. Pilot captures historic northern lights show from 37,000 feet (photos)

I’ve been fortunate enough to witness some incredible aurora displays over the years — and to receive stunning photos from readers and photographers — but this latest series of images from airline pilot Matt Melnyk may be the best I’ve ever seen.

During the recent geomagnetic storms that rattled Earth’s magnetic field on the night of Jan. 18–19, auroras were spotted far beyond their usual polar limits, with skywatchers around the world sharing vivid images of green, red and deep magenta scenes in the sky. But Melnyk arguably had the best seat in the world — the cockpit of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

“The show started as soon as we climbed above the clouds and continued on and off during the flight from Calgary to London, U.K.,” Melnyk told Space.com. “It was a historical night that’s for sure!”

The breathtaking photographs were captured from 37,000 feet (11 kilometers) over northern Manitoba, Hudson Bay and Baffin Island in Canada.

Matt Melnyk

Matt Melnyk is an airline pilot and avid aurora chaser who regularly enjoys northern lights shows during his flights between Canada and Europe.

From the cruising altitude of aircraft like Melnyk’s, high above the clouds and far from city light pollution, auroras can appear brighter, sharper and more expansive than from the ground, with clouds and city lights far below. The northern lights appeared to fill the entire sky, saturating the scene with vivid curtains of color dancing to the whims of Earth’s magnetic field.

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“This was the most incredible display of aurora I’ve ever seen in my 20 years of flying!” Melnyk added. “This flight I will remember for days to come.”

Melnyk captured the stunning photographs with a Canon R6 ii and Sigma 14mm F1.8 lens. “I normally shoot with a 20mm F1.4 lens out of the airplane at night, but I decided to go extra wide for this flight as I knew I would probably need something wider to get the big auroras!” Melnyk added.

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Melnyk is no stranger to being accompanied by the northern lights during flights across Europe, and we recently featured another set of his images captured during a severe G4 geomagnetic storm in Nov. 2025. While those photos were stunning, this latest collection truly surpasses them.

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Inspired to capture your own astrophotography? Our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can help you get ready to capture the next stunning skywatching event.