Alaska Part 3--Aurora Borealis

"Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious."--Stephen Hawking

Seeing the Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis has been on my bucket list ever since I saw them in a documentary in middle school. I knew my chance was fast approaching as I had recently booked a light to see my best friend, Sarah, in Alaska.

There is a website where you can check the intensity of the Northern Lights each night on a scale out of 10. We saw the forecast for the entire week and knew there was only one good chance of seeing them. That night they were going to be a 5 out of 10. Here's the website if you're interested! http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

Sarah lives in Fairbanks, which is quite a large city, but not anything like what comes to mind when you think big city. Alaska's population is very sparse. They have lots of people, but everyone is so spread out and environmentally friendly that it is hard to tell that you're in a very large city. There is very little light pollution so spotting the lights when they are out is not too difficult.

We drove to a spot away from all the homes and the school on a little side road where there was a nice clearing and no trees to block out view of the sky. We were one of two cars there and both of us were intent on getting some great photography shots! We had some difficulty in setting my camera on the correct shutter speed and aperture, but after some fiddling and trial and error we were able to get some great shots. They aren't professional by any means, but I'm proud of them.

In every photo or documentary the lights always seemed to burst out of the sky and were so vibrant, however they seem to be dull in color until I edited them in my computer. I'm guessing the location was the reason for this.

Fairbanks isn't the only place to see the Northern Lights. The farther north you go the more likely you are to see more vibrant colors and the lights more often. Norway is well-known for Aurora adventure tours. In addition, any location near to the Arctic Circle will provide lots and lots of opportunities! The winter is also a much better time to go see them.

If you have the chance, definitely take the opportunity to see the Aurora Borealis. There really is nothing quite like it anywhere else on earth.

 "You cannot rob me of free nature's grace, you cannot shut the windows of the sky through which Aurora shows her brightening face. " --James Thomson