A woman recently captured stunning sights of the northern lights, or the aurora borealis, on a flight to London on United Airlines, garnering much appreciation online.
The TikTok highlighting the moment, captioned, "Aurora borealis above Newfoundland, @United Airlines thanks for the great view," has been viewed 4.9 million times and liked 1.1 million times since it was shared on March 20. This comes as ageomagnetic storm is due to hit Earth this Thursday, and it could spark some shimmering northern lights in the U.S.
According to Live Science, the northern lights, or aurora borealis, can be seen in the sky after charged particles that come from the sun "slam into oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere." The particles ionize the molecules and cause them to glow.
Okay, so I just got chills! So beautiful!
The aurora borealis is usually seen only at higher northern latitudes. The colors can vary from a slight glow to vibrant green, pink, blue, purple, and even reds. Scientists say the lights happen all the time, but the sun's light during the daytime filters it out.
TikToker @emilypaigesnyder shared the 16-second clip, which started with the plane taking off with a view from the window as the song "What Dreams are Made of" by Brent Morgan played in the background.
The plane's wing could be seen as the craft moved along the tarmac as raindrops ran across the window before the next stitched clip shows the plane climbing through a pink and orange-colored sky.
"Never expected to fly through the northern lights," the screen read in text overlay.
Next, a few images are pasted together to reveal the aurora borealis in the sky. Below the plane were what appeared to be glaciers in the water and clouds as the plane flew over them.
The northern lights were on full display reflecting their green-colored hues in the sky. The plane's wing was still front and center for the images, which showed a number of shots of the green lights jetting out in all directions as they appeared to dance in the sky through the plane window.
In a comment to United Airlines, the creator of the TikTok wrote, "Best flight of my life!"
An account associated with United Airlines replied back, "Newfoundland is serving [looks]."
Over 6,100 comments came in over the pictures of the northern lights, and people seemed to appreciate it. "Wow, that's my dream to see the northern lights," a TikToker admitted.
Other people hope to see the phenomenon up close one day as well. "How does it feel to be living my dream?" a viewer asked.
One TikToker wondered if it was "normal to fear" seeing the lights in person as they would "just cry in a plane full of people over how beautiful it is."
The view created emotions in some viewers. "Okay, so I just got chills! So beautiful!" a TikToker wrote.
People appreciated the fact that the woman had a window seat to properly see the light display. "Person in aisle seat crying, 'Why didn't I choose a window seat,'" a viewer joked.
Other comments included things like, "What an unreal experience," and "I would sob."
Many didn't hold back their feelings over the sight. "Giving me goosebumps," a viewer said. "This is stunning!"
The Northern Lights continue to stun viewers around the world this week; one freelance photographer caught the lights in the shape of a whale. And earlier this month, the lights triggered a doorbell camera which captured the display.
Newsweek reached out to TikToker @emilypaigesnyder for comment.
