Watch: Northern Lights Upstage Milky Way

(Video: Maciej Winiarczyk/YouTube)

Wow. Just wow. We cannot decide which amazing celestial event in this video is more amazing.

The other night in Scotland, filmmaker Maciej Winiarczyk was shooting a time-lapse video of a clear night sky over the banks of Loch More in Caithness. It was all going gorgeously, and then — bam! The Milky Way lights up, as bright and clear as in some sci-fi movie.

But never underestimate Mother Nature, she’s always got something up her sleeve. Because a little while later — bam! Out come the Northern Lights too.

What?! Could it get any better? We don’t think so, especially because the aurora borealis are actually winding down from the peak part of their 11-year cycle; after this season, they won’t be as frequent again for a decade or so.

Related: Last Chance to See the Northern Lights Before They Dim for a Decade

The end of that cycle might affect Maciej’s nighttime activities; he’s an admitted aurora chaser. But strangely enough, in this case he wasn’t even expecting to see anything that night. As he’s quoted as saying on YouTube, “I’ve never seen an event like this before, despite hunting auroras for over three years.”

If that’s not incentive to get out there this winter and chase the lights, we dont know what is — you don’t even have to leave the U.S. to do it.

Related: How to Be Wowed By the Northern Lights in the U.S.

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