Trip to Alaska? (aurora borealis sight seeing)

Lankysean

So I've recently become interested in going to alaska to see the Aurora Borealis, don't ask me why because honestly I don't know. It's something that has always interested me and I've decided to finally start planning a trip. I don't really know to much about the aurora borealis and even less about alaska so I'm going to need some advice. I did a little google'ing and it seems like the best time to go would be between december and march so I could still go this year but would probably be better going next year. I also found a few places that offer "all inclusive" trips to see the lights but I don't know how ligament these are. Most inclusive trips go to a place called Red Bank Alaska if anyone knows anything about that town.

So my questions are:

Has anyone seen the aurora borealis? Is it very visible or is it more of a wispy hard to see effect. I've seen pictures but I could just be a long exposure that causes the lights to seem so bright.

How often do the aurora borealis actually happen? What are the chances of me getting up there and not seeing anything?

What else can I do while I'm up there? I'm going with the intent of seeing the lights but that's a night time activity and I'm going to have my days wide open.

Are there any other places besides alaska I could go while not spending a ton of money? I know that they can been seen in Sweden and some parts of New Zealand... not to mention Antarctica, but all of that sounds very expensive. I'm not even sure you can go to Antarctica now that I think of it.

Anyway, if anyone has any advise or first hand experience please chime in. I'm kinda over my head here, I do travel a lot but never to see a natural phenomenon and generally to more urban areas.

CyberJackal

I saw the Aurora Borealis in Iceland back in September. I'm no expert in auroras, but I'm pretty sure their likelihood of appearance is fairly random (though there are times of the year where they are more likely). You also need it to be a clear night. So yeah, there is a very real possibility you could go and see nothing. I can't give you a number for how likely that is though.

As far as their intensity, I don't know for sure but I would guess that it varies as well. When I saw it, it was clearly visible... Sort of like a glowing ribbon in the sky. But it wasn't as vibrant as I've seen it in photos. That could have been due to the fact I was in the middle of Reykjavik (with its accompanying light pollution) and it wasn't aurora "season" at the time. I can't say for certain.

As for other places to see it, well there's obviously Iceland! I don't know how the costs compare to Alaska, but I don't have a tough time imagining this would be a cheaper alternative to New Zealand or other parts of Europe. When I went, I got a pretty sweet deal through Icelandair which got me airfare, a week's stay in a nice hotel, and a day tour of nearby sights for a little over a thousand. Might be something to consider, since there's a bunch of other cool stuff to see. Probably would be warmer than Alaska too.

Lankysean

That's vaguely disappointing that it's not as vibrant as in photos... but it's still something I want to see. A week in Iceland would give me a much better shot at seeing the lights vs the 3 day packages I've seen for Alaska, I will definitely look into that. Thanks for the input!

Nova_C

I live in Yellowknife, which is pretty close to the Arctic Circle. There was actually a good Aurora show last week.

It's not super bright. If you're in the middle of a city or well lit town, you may not see it at all unless it's unusually bright. However, even when it's dim it's pretty amazing. Yellowknife isn't a big place and there's a lake nearby with no light pollution that I drove out to last week to do some Aurora watching. The moon was super bright which I think diminished the Aurora, but it was still very clear and really cool. There are websites that track Aurora activity and are pretty good at predicting it, so check those out (I only know of Astronomy North, which is specific to Yellowknife for Aurora activity).

Veevee

The Aurora itself is essentially caused by solar flare activity hitting our magnetic shield that then directs the radiation to our poles and then into our upper atmosphere, and the sun is approaching it's solar maximum which is it's highest activity for sun spot and solar flares. The Larger the flare or solar radiation that comes into contact with our atmosphere, the brighter and more "playful" the Aurora appears. There's been a couple recent reports of the lights also being seen as far south as the gulf coast, so you don't have to go somewhere exotic to see them but those shows take an extra large burst of radiation.

The biggest hurdle you'll have is having the luck to be there during a light show and having a clear sky, but here's a couple websites that might help http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast and http://odin.gi.alaska.edu/FAQ/

Oh, and for future knowledge the lights in New Zealand and the southern hemisphere aren't Aurora Borealis, they're called the Aurora Australis.

Lankysean

This is all good info. A decent trip to Iceland will probably cost me a few hundred more but will offer more to do than just seeing the lights so I'm actually considering that more so than Alaska... I'm hoping that if I go for a week to 10 days during peak Aurora season that should provide me with a decent chance to see the lights... but the extra cost has made me delay this trip till next year. Anyway, thanks for all the advice so far and I hope I get some more good info!

Seeks

I live in Fairbanks, AK. The lights are common enough that most of the time, I don't even pay attention to it anymore. That's not to say that it's an everyday thing (in fact it's been a good while since the last time I remember seeing 'em), but some nights are more vibrant that others and even on the best occasions, it's rarely worth standing outside at -30 (or worse) to watch the sky. I should also mention that I'm a nerd who spends most of my time indoors anyway, however, so maybe I'm not the best person to be asking.

If you're interested in doing things other than skywatching, Ancorage might be a better bet than Fairbanks. There's not a hell of a lot to do here other than drink or watch movies, unless you're into learning Alaska history (tourist stuff). As for other places, I'd imagine that damn-near anywhere in Canda that's of a similar geographical bent would be just fine.

AgentBryant

Since I've been tracking auroral activity for awhile now for a little software development project, I thought I'd add my two cents. No matter where you plan on going, make sure you have other things you want to do and see. Not only can fickle weather spoil the show, but it's fairly easy for things to go dormant for 1 to 2 weeks at time, even with the peak approaching. It's also near impossible to get a decent forecast past 3 days in advance.. and even then its very unreliable.

It seems as though Iceland would be a good choice--easily as good as Alaska for aurora.

Lankysean

Again, good info. I think I had my hopes too high when I set out... seems like this trip to iceland would be pretty neat and the aurora would just be the icing on the cake. Still... something I'd like to see someday.