Pilot Captures "Turquoise Aerial Fire" From Plane Window, Internet Calls It "Incredible"

Dutch pilot Christiaan van Heijst frequently shares photographs of the views he sees from his cockpit. This time, Mr Christiaan took to Instagram to share a stunning picture of a rare moment he captured from a Boeing 747 window while flying over the North Atlantic. In the caption of his post, he said he was a few hundred kilometres south of Iceland when he came across a "turquoise aerial fire" in the form of aurora borealis. He said the city lights of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, illuminated the horizon in a contrasting orange glow far away.

"A few hundred miles south of Iceland, somewhere over the North Atlantic ocean. A turquoise aerial fire in the form of aurora borealis while the city lights of Reykjavik illuminate the horizon in a contrasting, orange glow, far away," Mr Christiaan wrote. 

Take a look at the picture below: 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst)

In the caption of the post, the Dutch pilot also shared an entertaining story behind snapping the picture. "Artificial lights on the horizon: a beacon of civilisation and connectedness to the world after many hours of isolation: no communication in my headset except for the bare minimums in regard to procedures, nor any personal interaction from my Icelandic captain, who's been mute ever since the landing gear went up on the other side of the planet. A character known for his absolute approach to colleagues and deliberate lack of conversational depth during flight," he explained. 

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"Hours later, the lights of Reykjavik are abundantly visible and without need, heed or warning, he opens up the intercom and takes his time to start his declaration for a single-person audience: me. Staring out of his window, eyes set on the distant orange glow from his left-hand window, he solemnly proclaims a few seconds later: '... the centre of the universe ...', allowing some moments of quiet contemplation and thought on my side, before switching his intercom off again, as if to underline this statement and retreating back in his cone of silence," Mr Christiaan continued. 

"Stoic minimalism at its best and I can't help but silently chuckle at this unexpected and utterly dry sense of humour," he added. 

Further, the pilot said after the pair touched down four hours later in a cargo airport in central Europe, neither shared a single word "besides his solemn proclamation of Iceland's true worth". "'You're a fun guy, looking forward to flying with you next time,' he confided to me, before leaving me with a solid handshake and sincere smile before disappearing into the night to find his car.'" the pilot wrote. 

Mr Christiaan shared the post earlier this week. Since then, it has amassed more than 2,500 likes and several reactions. "Wow! Incredible shot! Silence is golden indeed," one person wrote. "Working a Polar flight tomorrow night. My camera is ready and I hope I see some," wrote another. 

"Love love your photos and entertaining, well written accounts that accompany them too," expressed a third user.