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Northern Lights Viewing

Aurora Borealis

The Aurora, also known as the Northern Lights, are glowing, dancing curtains of light. They ripple and sway, fold and unfold, then suddenly disappear, only to reform in a new shape minutes later. They appear in the sky when the electrically charged particles from the Sun are blown on a solar wind and react to the earth's magnetic field.

Fall, winter and spring is the prime season for viewing, and the best displays tend to be accompanied by sub-zero temperatures and moonless skies. The best hours are often near midnight. Of course, no one can guarantee when they will be out. Sometimes the Aurora over Alaska and other auroral zones is barely visible, or appears colorless and unmoving. At other times the auroras can be incredibly bright, multihued and fast moving. The most common color is a brilliant yellow-green. Colorful displays can produce red, blue and purple patterns.

Displays usually occur about sixty or seventy miles above the earth’s surface - about ten times higher than a jet aircraft flies - and can extend hundreds of miles into space. Visitors who wish to spot the Northern should plan to spend a few days because the Aurora is, like the weather, variable. Local Aurora Forecasts are available online or in the weather section of the Anchorage Daily News.

Many of the area hotels have a “northern lights wake up call” for guests who indicate that they want to be awakened if the lights are dancing in the night sky.