It's currently prime Northern Lights viewing season. The nights are dark, long, and less cloudy than they will be once spring hits. One photographer on his way to Iceland discovered just that as his New Year's Eve flight on Delta from New York-JFK to Reykjavik passed through the aurora borealis. First, Aryeh Nirenberg hit the frequent flier jackpot with a whole row to himself. That came in handy when, upon looking out the window, Nirenberg was able to set up a tripod, cover his camera in an airplane blanket to block out the cabin lights, and capture a time lapse of his flight traveling alongside the natural masterpiece.
The video, posted to YouTube, has been viewed over 200,000 times in the last 72 hours.
Nirenberg isn't the only photographer in the last few weeks to have luck on his side when it comes to the Northern Lights. One amateur photographer on a Norwegian Air flight from Oslo to Tromsø caught a view of the lights from the best seat in the house: the cockpit. The passenger knew the pilots on his flight and was allowed to join them upfront for part of the two-hour flight. "I think people love the Northern Lights because it can be such a mind-blowing experience when [you see] the whole sky change and colors flow, create patterns and change speed,"Anders Hanssen told the Daily Mail.
Looks like we're only booking night flights in window seats to Iceland and Scandinavia for the rest of the winter.