Its easy to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights
You don’t have to be in Alaska to go brave the ice and snow, armed with a flask of coffee and your weatherproof jacket, and journey out into the everlasting night to witness the awe inspiring beauty of the Northern Lights. You don’t even have to know when to venture out, in fact, even if you don’t have the slightest clue there is now a guiding light.
The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have revamped their hugely popular website geared towards providing all aspiring aurora borealis watchers with all the necessary information, and no stone is left unturned.
In Alaska, Fairbanks is blessed with approximately 243 nights of aurora activity per year, and in Anchorage there is an average of 30 decent nights every year. You can also see from US states, such as New York and Chicago, who are lucky enough to get about 10 nights per year, Seattle averages around five to 10 nights, and even New Orleans and San Francisco get one annual sighting of the Northern Lights.
Much more information, interactive world maps, as well as three different forecasts including daily, extended and long-term are available at www.gedds.alaska.edu. Scientists begin by looking at the sun and looking ahead at the changes in the solar wind in order to complete a three- to five-day forecast. Solar flares are distorted by the solar wind containing magnetic and particle components which blows all the time.
