For Millenia, humans have stared at the night sky in awe of a light show like no other.

Norwegian scientist, Olaf Kristian Birkeland, risked his life in pursuit of understanding how the Aurora developed. His discoveries of how the sun's coronal mass ejections, and solar winds, interact with Earth's magnetic field at both the North and South poles, serve as our understanding about this spectacular experience. 


A book titled "The Northern Lights. The True Story of the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aurora Borealis" by Lucy Jago is a fascinating story of Birkeland's life and accomplishments.

The Northern Lights Experience...

The Lights are On! as they say in Fairbanks, Alaska. And, the lights are on quite often. Rumor has it that Fairbanks has more clear night skies than anywhere on the planet making it the best place to view the Aurora with some level of certainty. It's also true that one should never travel to Alaska with the sole purpose of seeing the Aurora - but I did - and this is what happened 7 consecutive nights in March.

Experiencing the Aurora can easily be done on your own. Plan on leaving town about 10pm and going to bed around 4 or 5am during a new moon at the Spring Equinox.