Aurora Photos

Winters in Fairbanks, Alaska can be long and tough.

We have snow on the ground for 7 months, temperatures drop to 40, 50, or

60 below zero and can stay there for weeks. Days shorten to a few

precious hours of light. The aurora helps to keep us inspired.

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are a unique phenomenon that Fairbanks, Alaska is perfectly positioned to observe. Powered by outbursts of energy from the Sun, the aurora forms a ring around the North and South Poles where the solar winds interact with the the Earth's natural magnetic field high above the surface of our planet. The aurora is always "on", but it's not bright enough to be seen during the day. At night, it may be so weak it's not visible, or so strong that it touches your soul.

Fairbanks just happens to be almost directly under this free-flowing ring of light.

If the aurora is strong enough to be visible, it should be visible from Fairbanks.

With more energy from the Sun the aurora expands and is visible

further and further to the South. When this happens, the aurora can

cover the entire sky over Fairbanks in a vibrant swirl of flowing color.

The most common type of aurora that we see is a single band, or curtain,

of green that clearly curves from one horizon to the other.

When the aurora really gets going it becomes an explosion of color

racing across the sky. Shades of red, blue, pink, white, orange or purple

can come and go in a heartbeat, or become a silent river overhead.

The different colors show up as different gases high in the atmosphere

are excited by the impact of incredible surges in solar energy.

For more information on what the aurora is and what it's doing right now check out the following websites:

University of Alaska - Fairbanks Aurora Information | Current Aurora Activity

Visit our Links Page for more websites relating to the aurora.

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