During a recent flight from London to Calgary, airline pilot Matt Melnyk had a front-row seat to an extraordinary natural phenomenon: a severe geomagnetic storm that lit up the skies with vibrant northern lights.
The event, caused by solar activity, was documented by Melnyk in a series of breathtaking photographs, which were later featured in Space.com, published on November 18, 2025. As a seasoned aurora chaser, Melnyk’s perspective from the cockpit at 36,000 feet gave him—and now us—a rare glimpse of the northern lights from an entirely unique vantage point.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
On November 12, a severe G4 geomagnetic storm swept across the Northern Hemisphere, painting the skies with vibrant auroras from Canada down to Mexico. While many on the ground were lucky to witness the event, few had the incredible advantage that Matt Melnyk had, he was in the perfect spot, flying at cruising altitude in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. As a pilot who regularly flies across Northern Europe, Melnyk is no stranger to the aurora.
In fact, he’s so accustomed to seeing them that he says he catches glimpses of the northern lights on 90% of his flights this time of year. But this flight was different, it wasn’t just the usual auroras. A severe solar storm, fueled by coronal mass ejections from sunspot AR4274.
Beneath the Solar Storm’s Glow
Melnyk had the rare opportunity to photograph the aurora right as it was being intensified by solar activity. This type of event doesn’t happen every day, and Melnyk was keenly aware of how lucky he was.
“It’s rare to be flying at the exact time a major solar storm is happening, so I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to witness this event,” he said in an interview with Space.com.
The geomagnetic storm created the perfect conditions for an aurora display that stretched across a huge portion of the Northern Hemisphere, lighting up the skies over Canada, the U.S., and even as far south as Mexico.
How He Got the Shot: Technology at Work
Capturing such a breathtaking sight isn’t easy, especially when you’re in an aircraft cockpit, surrounded by low light and fast-moving clouds. But Melnyk was ready for the challenge, equipped with a Canon R6 Mark II camera and a Canon RF 20 mm F1.4 L VCM lens. Thanks to advancements in camera technology, especially in low-light performance, he was able to shoot the northern lights handheld.
“These photos were not that tricky to obtain thanks to new camera technology that allows me to get these photos handheld. The combination of a fast lens and a high-performing low-light camera makes it very simple.”
Since this flight, he has continued to capture more stunning aurora displays, including another one on November 17 during a flight from Calgary to London.