Some spectacular thunderstorms under the stars images from 747 pilot Christiaan van Heijst. Christiaan takes up the story; "Of all the breathtaking things to see during night flights, thunderstorms and lightning shows are among my favourites. "Sometimes isolated towering clouds that generate one or two bolts before dying out, other times vast weather systems that melt together, stretching for dozens and sometimes hundreds of miles long. "We always try to stay as far away as possible from these monsters, using eyesight and weather radar to peek inside obscuring clouds. "The storm on this photo (above) was not on our direct flight path, posing no threat. While we passed alongside it I had time to sit back and enjoy the fireworks beyond my window. Non-stop flashes, discharging unbelievable amounts of power all the time and in all directions. "While flying, we never hear the rumble or thunder up here since the loud rush of air around the fuselage smothers all ambient sounds. Just the visual spectacle of unbelievable scales." Christiaan is one of the world’s leading aviation photographers and more of his work and more close encounter (s) can be found here. Here are more of Christiaan's thunderstorm images.