One Man's Alaska

Northern Lights visible from Fairbanks to Juneau

March 10, 2011

Sigh, I woke up this morning to read that the Northern Lights -- the Aurora Borealis -- were very clearly visible from Fairbanks in the north to Juneau in the south, including all points in between, including Palmer, Alaska, where I was sleeping.

I've signed up twice to receive Northern Lights alerts (using two different email addresses), but for some reason I'm not receiving them. But this one is also my fault, as I left the earphones in my phone last night, and while a friend and former neighbor tried to call me from Wasilla, I never heard it ring.

Trying to see the Northern Lights in Alaska has been an interesting exercise. A year ago I would have told you I'd do anything to see them, but last night, as the wind was howling, the windows were rattling, and the building was shaking, I tried to sleep in the hallway and didn't think about the Northern Lights at all. If I had heard my neighbor's phone call I'm sure I would have gone outside to see them, but with the wind blowing like this it would have really taken away from the experience.

Manually looking at the Aurora Forecast website now, it looks like the Sun is still active, so hopefully I'll have another chance to see them again tonight.

back to the One Man's Alaska front page