We have been checking with the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, for the aurora forecast over the last couple of weeks. The forecast has been good, which is a 3 or 4 on their scale, but the weather did not cooperate and the clouds made it impossible to see anything in the evenings. However, this morning at around 2:00 am we had clear skies and a forecast of a 4 on the aurora scale. Sure enough we got a display that lasted for almost an hour! I was ready with the camera, after setting all of the adjustments to the proper settings for aurora. The only thing I did not have was a remote shutter release. So as you will see, the colors of the aurora came out very nice but the whole thing is also very blurry and looks out of focus. Oh well, it was a wonderful display anyway!
The color started out very thin and then grew larger and brighter.
As we watched the color began to spread and get more intense.
What is an aurora? When charged particles from the sun reach the earth they interact with particles in the atmosphere and are directed by the earth’s magnetic field. The most common color is green, due to the interaction with oxygen atoms in the atmosphere, but aurora can be red or blue also. Aurora also happen at both polar regions. The Aurora Borealis are the northern lights and the Aurora Australis are the southern lights. They are the same things in two different places because the magnetic field directs the charged particles towards both poles equally. I have been lucky enough to have seen both lights, and they are beautiful!
The light started to move more across the sky from west to east.
As it spread toward the east, the lights looked like a curtain opening across the sky!
The night was crisp and clear, and we are far enough away from any lights that the sky was pretty dark and full of stars. The aurora began as a faint haze like cloud looking band in the sky. After only about five minutes the light began to get deeper in thickness and color and the curtain of the aurora started to spread. It is just magical to watch the sky light up and move in a silent smooth way. The display moved around and spread across the sky until it went all the way from the west to the east. The color did not look quite as bright in real life as some of the photos show, but it was pretty bright! Aurora are one of those natural and simple things in life that science really interesting.