But conditions must be right! Viewing a great aurora depends upon the solar activity, cloud cover, moon phase, and proximity to light pollution. Most of the time, your prospects improve as you move further north, to places like Fairbanks and areas north of the Alaska Range.īut, with some luck, you can experience satisfying displays inside Alaska’s biggest city or within an hour’s drive. It’s a matter of timing, weather, and local topography. First, check the Aurora Forecastīecause the auroral band is generated by the solar wind, scientists monitoring the sun with observatories and satellites can predict when it’s likely to become active. The Aurora Forecast sponsored by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has multi-day outlooks and a graphic display showing a short-term forecast that’s practically in real-time. A time-lapse version can be found at NASA’s space weather site. Here, they update twice daily, and you can even sign up for forecast updates and alerts. For aurora watchers, this forecast is indispensable. You won’t see the aurora through thick clouds. If the solar-wind-based forecast is promising, you need to find a location with clear skies. Alaska’s classic aurora viewing occurs during cold snaps when high pressure has cleansed the atmosphere of clouds. If it’s cloudy or foggy inside Anchorage, finding wide-open skies might mean driving from sea level to a higher elevation, or driving north from town into the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The Anchorage-area page of the National Weather Service has clickable forecasts, radar showing real-time precipitation, and satellite images of cloud cover. March and April tend to experience more clear weather than the November-to-February period. If you're not ready to do it yourself, go with a local Anchorage guide to the area's hot spots. Third, think about the moon phaseĪ full or half-moon can make an Alaska winter night seem as bright as day, especially with reflective snow cover. The very best aurora viewing will occur during the two weeks centered on the dark new moon. Use the Sun and Moon phase calculator from the U.S. It’s a good thing that a great display can be so invigorating. In Alaska, the aurora tends to be most active between 10 pm and 2 am. The light show can amp up without warning, in just about any part of the sky, and generally remains active for at least a half-hour. Finally, find an unobstructed northern view away from artificial lights Aurora junkies sometimes stay up most of the night. The glow from streetlights and human infrastructure can rub the edge off an aurora display, transforming something dazzling and detailed into a vague milky shimmer. As a rule of thumb, you want a spot where the stars appear bright against the black dome of the sky. Or where it’s dark enough to see the Milky Way. Without trees or buildings or valley walls in the way. Perched at 2,200 feet in elevation with a stunning view of the Anchorage Bowl and about five mountain ranges, the overlook at the Glen Alps trailhead into Chugach State Park may be the best place to view the aurora borealis in Anchorage. While the distant urban glow might produce some interference with clarity, the vast unobstructed view of the northern sky maximizes your chances of catching the auroral dance in action. Getting there: Take the Seward Highway to O'Malley Road and drive toward the mountains. Follow O'Malley to Hillside Drive and turn south (right if facing mountains.) Turn left (toward the mountains) on Upper Huffman Road. About a half mile up hill, the road forks into Sultana Drive (left) and Toilsome Road (right.) Glen Alps is at the end of Toilsome Road. (Sultana leads the Upper Huffman trailhead of the park.) A $5 fee or state parking pass is required. Note: Toilsome Road has a very sharp switchback and steep grades, and may require all-wheel-drive and/or good winter tires during snowy or icy conditions.Ġ9 Turnagain Arm: Potter Valley to Ingram Creek, including Portage Lakeĭuring dark, winter nights with clear weather, the head of Turnagain Arm offers surroundings that will appear otherworldly in starlight-wide river valleys, the expanse of mudflats and wetlands, the gleam of snowy mountains. Include a dancing aurora, and the setting will feel like you’ve been transported into an exotic Arctic realm. Try the parking lot on the shore of Portage Lake-where aurora bands can reflect off the ice or water-or stop at pullouts by the Placer River and Ingram Creek. Getting there: Take the Seward Highway southeast about 45 miles to the head of Turnagain Arm.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |