Watch Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano erupt under Northern Lights

Video: Footage was captured by a helicopter hovering just one kilometre over the mouth of the erupting volcano

A plane flies close to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano (AFP)

Amazing footage shows the Icelandic volcano Bardarbunga erupting underneath the Northern Lights.

The Bardarbunga volcano erupted over the weekend after weeks of activity and speculation.

The video starts with showing a timelapse video of the light display over the volcano, before a series of close up shots, taken from a helicopter flying just 1km above pulsing lava flow.

Scroll down to watch the video

Iceland’s largest volcanic system, which measures 118 miles across the country, has been hit by thousands of small tremors and eruptions over the last month, placing scientists on high alert.

The Icelandic Met Office has been regularly changing the aviation warning over the volcanic region prompting fears from the airline industry of a repeat of the disastrous 2010 eruption.

Four years ago, an ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano (which is in a different region from the Bardarbungo volcano) grounded flights across Europe and cost airliners billions in lost revenue and refunds.

One unexpected side effect of this latest eruption has been the smell of sulphur which has drifted all 800 miles west to Norway, according to reports from Norway’s public broadcaster NRK.

Video courtesy of Newsflare