"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." At least that's what I've read it says on Willie Nelson's coffee maker. Fellow PolarTREC teacher Tim Spuck hurried the night-owls among us out the door of the hotel a little after midnight. The lack of clouds gave us hope as we scanned the sky. Then the green lights appeared and pushed us to quickly find the next side road that would lead away from the lights of Fairbanks! We had been hoping for a sighting since well-before coming to Alaska. To our delight the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, danced about the sky as we looked up under the light of a full moon.
Click here for a great explanation of how the Aurora Borealis Work
We were lucky to be in one of the best locations on the planet to view the Aurora. We were also lucky to have a virtually cloudless night. The University of Alaska at Fairbanks Geophysical Institute does provide forecasts of Auroral activity. Our hotel even posts an updated forecast daily, but the Geophysical Institute advises that these forecasts are done "with less confidence than weather prediction." Tonight's forecast was low (2 on a scale of 0-9). The full moon could potentially make it difficult to see the Aurora. As we pulled our car to the side of the highway, we again were awed by nature's beauty.
Under the Aurora (from left to right) Bottom Row: Samantha Hansen, Wendy Gorton; Middle Row: Nick LaFave, Cristina Solas, Elizabeth Ratliff; Top Row: Brian DuBay, Timothy Spuck. Photo courtesy of Brian Dubay.
Update
Tim Spuck called before the end of my last sentence making me lucky enough to see the Aurora twice within 24 hours!!!
Under the Aurora (from left to right) Heidi Roop, Tim Spuck, Amber Lancaster, Lisa Seff, Lindsay Knippenberg, Mark Paricio, Nick LaFave. Photo courtesy of Tim Spuck.
Polar Quiz
What is in this picture?
Can you identify what is in this picture?
Check tomorrow's posting for the answer.
Yesterday's Answer: 1. Antarctic 2. Arctic