Photographer Captures Impressive Footage of Northern Lights During Flight to Alaska [Watch]

(Photo: Pexels/stein egil liland)
Photographer Captures Impressive Footage of Northern Lights During Flight to Alaska [Watch]

A photographer who had been hoping to catch the Northern Lights so many times but failed had finally met it. He saw the green lights dancing outside the airplane window during his flight from Seattle to Alaska.

Northern Lights From the Airplane Window

Photographer Moharnab Saikia was traveling from Seattle to Fairbanks in Alaska. It was an unforgettable flight because he witnessed the Northern Lights for the first time.

At around 2:30 a.m. local time, he peeked through the airplane window and noticed the sky lit up green. He told Newsweek that he knew about the aurora prediction that week but wasn't sure about its strength. He understands that its strength could vary, and sometimes they are not visible because he had tried multiple times to catch them in Washington to no avail.

While the other passengers were asleep, Saika kept his eyes on the sky, and after two hours, he noticed a faint glow. He initially thought it was just an airglow. Nevertheless, he took out his camera and took an extended exposure photo.

When he saw a faint green color, he got excited. It didn't take long, and the aurora got so strong that he could see the green light waves dancing all over the sky. He took multiple photos and stitched all the images using his camera's intervalometer to create a time-lapse.

Recounting the experience, Saikia said he had mixed emotions. He was speechless, surprised, and anxious.

He acknowledged that it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to experience and photograph the event. He also woke up his pal, asleep beside him, because he wanted her to experience the same phenomenon.

Saikia shared his video on Instagram.

It wasn't the first time passengers experienced Northern Lights aboard a plane. In a previous report from Science Times, the passengers of flight EZY1806 experienced the same.

The pilot even did a 360-fly mid-flight to ensure all passengers would see the incredible aurora borealis. Many passengers captured photos and videos of the stunning light display and shared them on social media.

ALSO READ: Strong Geomagnetic Storm Could Produce Atypical Northern Lights as Far South as in the US

What Are Northern Lights?

Northern lights, also called aurora borealis, are an atmospheric phenomenon. According to Space.com, they are regarded as the "Holy Grail of skywatching." However, although they are pleasing to the eyes, they result from a violent event caused by the activity on the sun's surface.

The Greenwich Observatory explains that when solar storms occur on the sun's surface, massive clouds of electrically charged particles are launched into space, some of which eventually collide with the Earth. Most particles are redirected by the powerful magnetic field shielding our planet, but some are ultimately caught and move down towards the North and South Poles.

Our planet's magnetic field shields us from the onslaught of energetic solar particles, which may travel up to 45 million miles per hour (72 million kilometers per hour) in our upper atmosphere. As Earth's magnetic field leads the particles toward the poles, the dramatic process develops into a cinematic, atmospheric phenomenon that astonishes and excites both scientists and skywatchers.

RELATED ARTICLE: Geomagnetic Storm Triggered Auroras on Lower Latitudes; What Are the Effects of the Recent Solar Flare on Earth?

Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.