Aurora oh wow! Calgary pilot Matt Melnyk's spectacular photos shot from flight deck of Dreamliner at 35,000 feet
Airline pilot Matt Melnyk had the best office view in the world Friday night.
Melnyk was piloting a Dreamliner from Calgary to London, England, Friday night, when he ran into an otherworldly show as the plane flew north.
He said he shot the photos from the flight deck at 35,000 feet, starting at the northeastern border of Alberta.
“It started around 10:00 p.m. and lasted pretty much three hours,” Melnyk wrote in an email to CTV during his London layover Saturday. “We eventually flew so far north and east that the Aurora was behind and south of us.”
The landscapes below, Melnyk said, are various tundra-type landscapes in northern Canada, north of the Hudson Bay.
Melnyk’s Instagram feed features numerous spectacular photos of Aurora Borealis that he shoots in southern Alberta, which raises a question: are the colours more vivid up north?
Melnyk shot his photos from the flight deck of a Dreamliner at 35,000 feet. (Photo: Matt Melnyk)
“Absolutely they are,” he said. "You don't need a strong KP index (planetary K-index) or any kind of solar storm to see vivid colors when you are this far north around the 55 degree to 60 degree latitude.”
Melnyk said flying north overseas allows him to enjoy frequent Aurora Borealis sightings. (Photo: Matt Melnyk)
It’s Melnyk’s third trans-Atlantic trip on the Dreamliner and he said he’s run into Aurora Borealis every time – and this is one natural light show that is never the same twice.
“It is always different every flight,” he said. “It all depends on how our atmosphere reacts with the charged particles from the sun.
“Sometimes we see bright reds, sometimes purples, mostly green almost always, and on rare occasions we see pink and electric blue,” he added. “If you’re lucky, you get to see most of these colors in one night -- if not all of them!”
Aurora Borealis north of Hudson Bay, March 22, 2024 (Photo: Matt Melnyk)
And for those of you hoping to do some night sky watching in the coming weeks, Melnyk has encouraging news.
“We are climbing our way towards solar maximum, which means major Aurora events will be more common,” he said. “Therefore people in southern latitudes, such as Calgary, will have a greater chance of seeing them.
“Also during the equinoxes, both spring and fall, the Aurora tends to be more active, just as it has been this month. We are due for one more big show in March, as we just learned of an earth-directed solar flare that was just launched from the sun yesterday! This has the potential to spark a G3 geomagnetic storm, which means the Aurora will spill far into the United States.”
Aurora Borealis over northern Alberta, March 22, 2024 (Photo: Matt Melnyk)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.