Passenger captures stunning aurora photo from aircraft window

Taken during a recent solar storm which hit Earth.
Taken during a recent solar storm which hit Earth. Photo credit: Supplied to Newshub by photographer

We've all had one of those moments where we've dearly wished we had a camera on us and that was certainly the case for an airline passenger in Canada recently.

Sam, a 24-year-old photographer, was on a flight from Vancouver to Kelowna to visit family.  

During the flight, Sam managed to capture this stunning image of the aurora borealis with their phone. However, much to their disappointment, their Sony A7ii professional camera was locked away in their checked in luggage. 

"I've never seen the northern lights before and was in absolute awe. It was one of the most incredible natural wonders I have ever seen," Sam told Newshub.

The stunning light show occurred due to a large solar storm which hit Earth on Tuesday (NZ time). 

Known as aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and aurora australis in the south, the geomagnetic activity can affect many systems here on Earth.

Our planet's ionosphere, which reflects and modifies radio waves used for communication and navigation, is heated and distorted during these magnetic storms. This means long-range radio communication which relies on the ionosphere for its reflection can be severely disrupted and GPS systems can become less accurate. 

It can also affect power supply. 

Sam hopes they will get to see the amazing display again one day and that this time, they have their proper camera with them.