My husband Arron (WAC founder + CEO) took the above photo during a recent display of the aurora borealis, cast across a dark sky above Homer, Alaska. Otherwise known as the northern lights, the aurora borealis is one of the most otherworldly phenomena that we as humans are able to see so clearly with the naked eye, given the right circumstances.
Being able to see the northern lights in such splendor is a serendipity of cycles. For one, the lights tend to peak around the equinoxes. When they do appear, it’s usually around midnight, just as the evening of one day spills into the early morning of the next. There is an even larger 11-year cycle at play, where the intensity of the lights seems to ebb and flow in tandem with the solar system. This year happens to be the peak of this cycle.
There are other factors, as well. Certain northerly latitudes tend to be ideally situated for the aurora borealis, making Alaska one of the prime viewing grounds for “aurora hunters.” Proximity to city lights, though, will limit the visibility of the aurora, whereas a full moon tends to intensify its brilliance. And then there’s the weather — a cloudy day will throw a wrench at it all, since the northern lights materialize far above the clouds, even higher than shooting stars. Sometimes the aurora displays can stretch hundreds of miles into space.
It’s something that I hope you have the opportunity to see for yourself one day, but to draw you closer to the experience, we asked our good friend and commercial fisherman Melanie Brown to give her own account of the northern lights, as seen through her eyes and told through a lifetime of stories.
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Shimmer and Shine
By Melanie Brown
It has been a good year for viewing the northern lights.
In Juneau, my home when I’m not fishing, I don’t think about them much because when there is solar activity that causes the lights to show, we usually have clouds hiding the lights from view. This past New Year, though, brought quite a light show to us in the Southeast Alaska rainforest just as the clock struck midnight. A tall loop of bluish-green towered above us in the sky before it transformed into another shape and migrated to a different part of the sky. It felt really special to start the year in that way.
At the North and South Poles, there is a magnetic field associated with the solar activity that makes its way to the earth’s atmosphere. The light activity of the aurora is naturally pulled toward these fields, so the chances of seeing aurora borealis (in the north) or aurora australis (in the south) increase if you are closer to the poles. In the north, they can be seen between the months of August and May.
Caption: Another snapshot from Arron, with subtle silvers and purples shimmering through the clouds.
When I was in school, I lived in Fairbanks. Being further north and in the interior of Alaska greatly increased my chances of seeing the aurora borealis. I witnessed some vivid shows of quickly moving circles that looked like horses circling a field. Once, while riding a mountain lift in the dark, I witnessed a curtain of lights that appeared in green, blue and purple dance in a pattern that mimicked the shape of the mountain range that it was hovering above. If you ever are traveling to Alaska in the dark, it is possible to see the northern lights from an airplane, so be sure to take a peek out the window.
In a way, the lights act as a guide for us too, illuminating our way north and into the wild. There are remote tourist destinations that attract their clients with the promise of seeing the northern lights because they are in such ideal locations for sightings. The Chena Hot Springs outside of Fairbanks is one of those destinations — I have heard of travelers attempting to time the conception of their children with a well-timed moment under a sky filled with northern lights because they believe that the lights will impart exceptional qualities to their offspring.
My father, who grew up in a coastal village to the north, heard different stories about the northern lights. He was told that whistling at them would cause them to move and dance if they were staying still. He was also warned that if he stayed out and watched them for too long, he would risk the spirits of the lights coming down and taking his head with which to play ball in the sky. He also claimed that it was possible to hear the lights, and I have to say that I have heard them make a sound like a lightly crackling fire once or twice.
Caption: In this photo taken by Arron, the northern lights appear as luminous aquamarine columns in the sky.
In my experience I have observed that the northern lights seem to appear more in the spring and fall seasons. This may be because the sun drives the weather and seasons, and the shift of the seasons is associated with more solar activity. This year’s light shows are an especially brilliant reminder that the clock has sprung forward, that another spring equinox is upon us — and, for me, that it is time to think about getting ready for the fishing season.
It occurs to me that looking at the shimmer of the northern lights is not unlike watching salmon move through water, with their silver skin flashing. I recall seeing displays that look like rivers in the sky, moving closer to the earth, and then returning to their previous heights. It makes me wonder if the salmon can see the northern lights as they swim through the sea, beneath such vast darkness. Or perhaps it is the magnetism of the aurora that guides them home when it is time for their return.
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Much gratitude to Melanie for putting the splendor of the northern lights into words and capturing the awe-inspiring effect that they can have on us, from our terrestrial vantage points. If you’re interested in following the aurora forecast from afar, check out the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ monitor — and don’t skip the FAQs at the bottom of the page, which will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the aurora borealis.
Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A practically iridescent display of the aurora borealis above Homer, Alaska, with a star-studded sky as its backdrop, as captured recently by Arron.
