Actually, yes, some newer aircraft have high-def video cameras mounted on the tail and on the belly of the aircraft, and the video stream is streamed into the aircraft so that passengers can see the "outside view" on in-flight entertainment systems. The only thing is I believe the the cameras often get turned off in the middle of the flight when the boring part is going on..

Here's a YouTube example of a tail camera on takeoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeBcZXjSfkE

"High-def" they are not.

I'm pretty sure they are high-definition. On my last A380 flight the exterior video looked at least 720P.

Many long distance flights have cameras on the tail + nose that you can watch on your entertainment system. I wouldn't expect them to stream it to the public though.

Can you imagine that it is very boring most of the time?

You might be surprised at the popularity of "Slow Television" [0], which televises the long journeys of trains, cruise ships, etc. It is apparently quite popular in Norway and growing elsewhere. Add some potential UFOs to the mix, and who knows where it might go?

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_television

I remember in the 90s tuning into "space night" on a German satellite channel when I got home from the pub. Just continuous video feeds from low earth orbit with electronica/chillout playing over the top. Was really relaxing to have on in the background.

I can imagine working from home with something like that on in the background and occasionally looking up to "see where we are now" - would give me some sense of travelling and seeing something new, rather than just feeling like I've been stuck at home coding in front of my laptop all day.

that sounds awesome! I wonder if there's anything like that available now. Anybody have any links?

I’m a big fan too, so here are a couple of links:

https://youtu.be/5rmjunOOseQ

Official BR video library (not sure if it works from abroad: https://www.br.de/mediathek/sendung/space-night-av:584f4cc13...

And wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Night

Re: Space Night, there are some clips on YT, like in this list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRhLbAy-ujs&list=PLCDF7A13D5...

This is a good one. Goes up to (Youtube quality) 4K as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjs6fnpPWy4

NASA has some.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-iss-stream

This channel on Pluto tv is very relaxing indeed, showing the norwegian trains through the countryside.

Just like my dash cam footage probably. You wouldn't go back and watch it unless something interesting happened.

Or just very relaxing. You can already tune into air-traffic control for white noise.