Legend has it that when the lights come out across the sky, whistling to them will make them dance. It could be that my ancestors are up there and want to say something back, or it could be that the lights have an essence of their own. Whatever the reason, when the lights are out, I whistle and I ALWAYS see them dance.
I have lived in Fairbanks most my life and the lights are still worth stopping for. I realize I am surrounded by the coolest thing in the sky but I do not take it for granted. Even now, when the lights come out, we go out to admire them. There is just something beautiful about these colors swirling, unpredictable up in the skies with the stars as a backdrop and the moon a partner on the stage.
It is this magical thing that brings you here to see them for yourself, almost like a pilgrimage, a bucket list item to see this crazy, magical phenomenon. I want to indulge you, I want to tell you that the lights will dance every time you whistle but I am also logical and realistic. Scientifically, these lights are created by a fun process that involves the sun and particles interacting with the atmosphere. Each different particle makes a different color. Despite all that, they are still magical to me – AND to you which is why you want to see them!
What is happening to Cause the Northern Lights?
It can be pretty specific and I encourage you to read through this easy illustrated guide about the lights at https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/aurora/en/
from the NASA website. But it basically goes like this. The earth has North and South poles – called so because of earth’s magnetic field. The sun gives the earth the warmth it needs to survive but it also releases particles and energy that comes towards the Earth. Our magnetic field protects us from most of these things so we don’t notice when this happens much – except the north and south poles. The sun doesn’t release a constant amount of this energy consistently, it varies. A solar wind is also at play here by moving those particles towards Earth. When the sun releases a lot of these particles at once, they come towards the earth quickly. These particles travel along the magnetic lines around the earth. Some of These lines move towards the north and south poles causing those particles to concentrate there. These particles interact with gases found in our atmosphere causing the particles to move to a high energy state. When they drop down to a lower state, they release a photon (light) and create the colors of the Aurora! Oxygen makes green and red colors in the sky and Nitrogen make the blue and purple colors. ( I have seen green, pink, purple, and reds here but never blue).
If you are planning a trip to Alaska for the Northern lights, I would recommend you come to Fairbanks. We are closest to the Arctic circle and within the Aurora zone. The Aurora Zone is the zone around the North and South Poles. There are other countries that get to see the Northern Lights that live under those zones which include Scandinavia, a bit of Greenland, some of Norway, Northern Canada, and Alaska. I made this globe as a visual to show you how it kind of wraps around the earth.
Anyways, Fairbanks is the northern most city and easiest to get to see it, however there are tons of people in Sitka and Anchorage that see it all the time as well. I think you will just get a better chance at seeing them in Fairbanks (But I might be Biased since I am a resident of Fairbanks)
Resources:
There are a lot of resources for people who “chase” the Northern Lights. I am going to include them here for your Aurora chasing pleasure.
https://www.theaurorachasers.com/aurorawebcam
– This web page has the most scientific information about chasing, finding, viewing and finding the northern lights. They have a solar weather tracker to see when the sun will release particles and viewing pages.
http://allsky.gi.alaska.edu/
– This is the second link that gives the most scientific and informational advice about when to see the aurora and what’s happening for you to see it.
https://auroranotify.com/aurora-links/
– This link is dedicated to Aurora Webcams and can lead you to some places to watch the lights. I have my own personal places that I go to see them and have shared a few on my “Fairbanks, Alaska” page here
The Northern lights are best seen in the dark months which happen to be September to April times. It is usually very cold when it is dark in Alaska. They can appear as early as 7:30 Alaska time but the most impressive shows are usually after midnight and into the early morning hours like 2-3 am.
What should I wear when I go?
I recommend taking warm clothing and a vehicle you can keep running to keep you warm. I would not just go for a walk at night to see them. It would be dangerous and totally unnecessary. You can view my Cold weather gear page for some advice Here.
Where Can I see them in Alaska?
There are a ton of places to see them in Alaska and since I live in Fairbanks, I have given a few free or paid locations on my (Northern Lights) page located Here
How can I take pictures of them?
I have included a page about this with all my tips and tricks of photographing the aurora Here.
