Stunning footage shows an air force pilot flying through the radiant Northern Lights.
Ross Franquemont, 40, was left awestruck when the green natural light began reflecting into his plane and swirling around outside the cockpit window.
And he even took incredible pictures of the dazzling display, photographing straight down the line of his U-2 Dragon Lady plane’s wings as he flew over Canada.
The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon which occur in the north-east of the sky.
They are created when charged particles from the sun enter Earth’s atmosphere.
Usually the particles are deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field, but some enter the atmosphere and collide with gas particles.
These collisions emit light in many colours, although pale green and pink are common.
Ross Franquemont was left awestruck when the green natural light of the Northern Lights began reflecting into his plane and swirling around outside the cockpit window
This incredible selfie shows Ross sitting in his plane thousands of feet up as the swirling lights beam brightly behind him
The 40-year-old pilot poses against the stunning background while travelling at about 500mph
The lights can be seen from the ground and are most visible in darker places away from light pollution in towns and cities.
Ross, who had never seen the iconic lights before, was flying his spy plane in late February when the astonishing scenes unfolded.
The pilot from Lenoir, North Carolina, captured the dancing aurora as he shot across the sky at about 500mph some 70,000 feet off the ground.
The radiant green light can be seen encircling his plane as he sailed over Canada late February
Ross even managed to photograph straight down the line of his U-2 Dragon Lady plane’s wings
‘What fascinates me most about aerial photography, especially from the U-2, is the reaction it gets from other people,’ said Ross.
‘The reaction has been incredible to say the least. We have more interest in pilots looking to come fly the U-2.
‘Probably one of the best feelings came from my co-workers, many of whom have flown this exact same flight.
”Finally someone was able to capture it,’ one of them put it.’
He added: ‘Seeing an image from a U-2, is kind of a first step toward that bigger picture and I think it evokes a small sense of overview effect in each person that views it.
‘I’d love to take everyone up to see for themselves, but we’ll have to wait for Virgin Galactic and hopefully others to start taking the public up.’
Light can be emitted in many colours during the natural phenomenon, although the most common pale green (pictured) and pink
The stunning beams cast a jaw-dropping shadow across the night sky as Ross flew past
Ross (pictured), from Lenoir, North Carolina, had never seen the iconic lights before and was left stunned by the display
Despite travelling at such high speed, Ross managed to capture crisp shots of the green light reflecting in the distance