Have you ever wondered how it looks up there in the skies? You can never know the feeling really. Your airplane window can’t do justice to the incredible beauty that is out there, thousands of miles above earth.  Christiaan van Heijst, a 747 Dutch pilot, has captured the sight of heavens above. Shooting with a Nikon D800, Heijst has taken breathtaking pictures from his cockpit and believe you me, the sight is very different from what we see from our plane windows. Take a look yourself! 

For all those who have the Northern Lights on their bucket list 

A beautiful colored display of Northern Lights, somewhere over Northern Canada, a few months ago. Green, purple, blue, orange, yellow and red, like a curtain dancing in the wind. #aurora #northernlights #night #canada #inflight #nightflight #stars #nature #sky #aviation #avgeek #instagramaviation #instalike #instacool #instanature #jpcvanheijst #nikon #d800 #amazing

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jul 1, 2016 at 10:32am PDT

I’m leaving on a jet plane 

And this was the view out of the front window, taken just a minute after the previously posted cockpit photo. Like a huge heavenly direction-finder, we fly parallel to a weak string of Northern Lights that crown the Northern hemisphere, all the way from Newfoundland to Scotland. A full moon shines her magic blue-white light on the solid clouddeck below us, complementing the magical green from the Aurora. #aurora #borealis #northernlights #moonlight #avgeek #aviation #aviationlovers #flight #flying #nightflight #stars #beautiful #instamood #instagood #instadaily #instaphoto #nikon #longexposure #cockpit #flightdeck #jpcvanheijst

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Dec 30, 2015 at 10:10am PST

Beneath the clouds

Flying somewhere between Beijing and Shanghai, we encountered a very active weatherfront with beautiful and very active thunderstorms. The cloud here seen on our left started to appear on our weather radar only a few minutes before and started to show off an amazing display of lightning that grew ever more intense. When we got closer, we saw that the cloud was going to burst through our flight path and we had to deviate up to 10km to avoid flying into this cell. Growing with a speed of up to 5000/6000ft per minute (1,5-2km per minute) straight up into the air, this was certainly a hazard to our airplane if we didnt fly around her.  The beauty of nightflights in Asia this time of the year. #lightning #storm #weather #cb #thunder #cloud #clouds #cloudporn #nature #flying #flight #instaweather #instagramaviation #instamood #instacool #aviation #avgeek #jpcvanheijst #nikon #d800 #nightflight #night #flight #china

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jun 18, 2016 at 8:33am PDT

Flying into the sun 

Totally unexpected one of my very best friends since flight-school that joined Cargolux last year appears from the sunrise ahead of us somewhere over Northern Siberia. We pass each other 1000ft/300m from each other and when I hear his voice over the radio, we tune in the international 'chat' frequency 123.45 and catch up with for a few minutes in Dutch. An unexpected encounter over one of the most desolate landscapes in the world, but it makes me smile deeply and this little handshake with a few warm words reminds me of how small the world actually is.  #b747 #boeing #boeinglovers #747 #contrail #sunrise #cloudporn #orange #friends #avgeek #aviation #flight #flying #pilotview #planeporn #pilotlifestyle #instaaviation #instagramaviation #nikon #natgeo #d800 #jpcvanheijst

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Mar 31, 2015 at 8:48am PDT

So that’s how a thunderstorm looks from up there 

Huge thunderstorm over Kunming, Southern China. #storm #thunderstorm #cb #lightning #light #nightflight #night #china #cloudporn #clouds #cloud #cumulus #nimbus #weather #avgeek #aviation #kunming #instaaviation #instagramaviation #jpcvanheijst

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jan 19, 2015 at 9:57pm PST

I’ll meet you at the horizon

Balancing between day and night, the sun rises on the right and the dark veil of the night is still covering the earth on the left. The uninhabited and snow-covered landscapes of Mongolia glide down below us in the meanwhile. #sunrise #sunset #mongolia #avgeek #aviation #view #instatravel #instaaviation #instagramtravel #instagramaviation #crewlife #crewlifestyle #landscape #travelgeek #wideangle #fisheye #life #nightflight #jpcvanheijst

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jan 27, 2015 at 2:54am PST

City lights 

Midnight cruise over Georgia on our way to Azerbeijan. A sky full with millions of stars and the cities glide by down below us. #night #nightflight #stars #stratosphere #b747 #boeing #boeinggeek #boeinglovers #747 #7478 #plane #planeporn #pilotlifestyle #pilot_view #pilotlifestyle #instatravel #instaaviation #instagramtravel #instagramaviation #georgia #jpcvanheijst

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jan 21, 2015 at 6:39am PST

Mt Rainier peeping from the clouds above Seattle 

Sunrise over the state of Washington, the city of Seattle below the clouds and Mt Rainier peeking through on the right. #sunrise #sun #seattle #washington #usa #mtrainier #rainier #mountain #view #pilot_view #pilotlifestyle #instatravel #instaaviation #instagramtravel #instagramaviation #jpcvanheijst #stratosphere

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jan 16, 2015 at 2:56pm PST

I’ll be the sky, I’ll be the ocean

Stratus cloud layer with a low setting sun #cloud #clouds #cloudporn #stratus #stratosphere #view #planeporn #instatravel #instaaviation #instagramtravel #instagramaviation #jpcvanheijst #sunset

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jan 11, 2015 at 10:32am PST

This surreal thunderstorm over Africa tells you nature is a lot 

Very heavy and active thunderstorms over Africa at night. Around the equator the thunderstorms can reach up to 60.000ft. #stratosphere #storm #thunderstorm #light #lightning #cloud #clouds #cloudporn #avgeek #view #planeporn #pilot_view #pilotlifestyle #instatravel #instaaviation #instagramtravel #instagramaviation #jpcvanheijst #africa #night #nightflight

A photo posted by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Nov 15, 2014 at 12:02pm PST

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These bright red lights in the middle of the Pacific Sea baffle and challenge what you think is the normal: 

The sky, like the ocean, is mysterious and magnetic in its beauty. These stunning photographs are proof nature is so much more than we can ever imagine. 

H/t – Bored Panda, Christiaan van Heijst