About

Aurora Borealis Notifications was founded by us, Amy Stratman and Kristie Stariha. In the winter of 2009-2010, we started a phone tree telling our friends that the aurora was out. This was not something new, aurora phone trees have been around Alaska for years. Little did we know we are not alone in our enthusiasm, and the list grew, so we went to onto Facebook to notify more people. We were the first aurora group and page on Facebook and we have inspired many other groups, with some leaving our group to start their own.

This is a network for Alaska residents and visitors to get real time notifications when the aurora borealis is visible in the sky. We also help spread the word from other areas around the world. In fact, group members from Minnesota and parts of Canada were becoming more plentiful than Alaskans! This service is powered by the human eye, and not by a computer. Although we love the science of space weather, we like to document and report the aurora season in an unscientific manner. We just like making sure you don’t  miss the lights! *hint: don’t be asleep!

We watch the sky nightly from mid August through the end of April. Auroras may still be seen in parts of Alaska where it gets dark into May, but the time frame of dark sky is so small, if you want to see the aurora, you can just wait for the dark hour (literally one or two hours). Auroras are seen in lower latitudes year round (in the northern states and southern provinces of Canada), if the aurora storm is strong enough.

The more people reporting the aurora, the more successful the report, because sometimes for whatever reason we don’t see it, but someone in another part of town or the state might, due to weather, terrain, or less trees. Many new websites and social media groups are collecting reports now, so the system we had is getting a bit watered down. People these days enjoy automated systems, unattended websites, websites not located in the aurora zone, and boring apps, not to mention social media groups with no aurora knowledge leading them. This website was founded on good old fashioned word of mouth and not automation. As time marches on, we’ll see how things change. However, with all that being said, we all have one thing in common….we love the aurora!

If you like chatting about the aurora and want more than the Facebook page has to offer, go to our always free Facebook group to talk about what you see, your photos, camera settings, special events, and more.
For exclusive content, one on one help, and access to the live webcam, join us in the Facebook Supporter Group Aurora Tonight, or Buy Me a coffee. You can also book tours through this website to our partners tour companies. 

Thanks for visiting!

*A special thank you to our wonderful social media admins Kristina, Kathy, Scott, Niki, Gary, Rich, Lindsay, Daniel, Robert, Misty, Nina, Shannon, and all the former admins too, Brittney, Monica, Samantha, Christian, Roger, Kevin, Marshall, Tony. All who work hard for HOURS per day!