Hello August 2020

Welcome back the darker skies to Alaska!
And that means we are on the hunt for auroras again.
We left the season last spring with the strange cut off of the season. Locals were still around and looking up to the skies, but the tourism sliced off sharply. We were having the awesome aurora science classes when the chatter began, “Should we shake hands to say hello?”.
———–Many many tour operators were forced to close early, and all were wondering what will happen in the fall. Now here we are. There are some aurora tour operators open now for this season. You have your choice of dates as out of state tourism is very slow. We can give you several suggestions on our Sponsors page.
 ———–For those that live in or near the aurora zone, the skies are dark once again at night. Our first aurora sighting for the season was July 30th! A small blob of green was seen against the sunny skies above North Pole, Alaska. That same aurora was sighted in Anchorage, Wasilla, and Kodiak. Brief, but most definitely there! Look to the upper right of Andy Witteman’s photo. Enjoy the timelapse sequence below the photo, where you can see the aurora a bit easier. Of course, those pesky clouds cover the good part at the exact moment (which is one reason why many missed these lights).

From Andy: “ohh, hi northern lights ? FIRST AURORA OF THE 2020-2021 SEASON!! it was a very brief little bloop (top right) that bounced by while I was shooting the noctilucent clouds! HOW COOL IS THAT!? I really did not expect to see any sort of aurora this early, and I never knew it was possible! July aurora in Fairbanks!? what a happy surprise!”

Now, let’s enjoy Kris Luckenbach’s video from Kodiak, Alaska (sounds of the beach included)

The space weather for seeing aurora has been weak since then, but we look every night to the north.
And the rain….the non-stop rain in many areas of Alaska! It was definitely a summer of rain!
Welcome back, season, welcome!!! Please show us auroras!!!
———-The next 3 nights are forecast Kp 1 and Kp 2. This indicates, as it stands now,
that there may be a green band on the northern horizon in the northern areas such as Fairbanks, Alaska.
See you online and out there in the dark!