Northern Lights

We've had a couple of clear nights, and the aurora came out to play.

The views above Smallville last night:

Northern Lights, Close to Home

Here's a great picture of the aurora borealis, taken a couple nights ago, in our town:

 

click to enlarge

 

Northern Lights: Alaskans Capture the Magic

A Better View of the Aurora

A couple weeks ago, I posted a highly inadequate iThingy photo of aurora dancing in the skies above Anchorage. It was a lousy photo, but all I had at the time.

Now a MUCH better photo has surfaced, done by someone who knew what they were doing with a timed exposure. Enjoy!

Post #5,200 - A Bit More of the Northern Lights

Regarding this morning's aurora display, I've heard that I must have seen the dimmest portion. Apparently it was a lot brighter a few minutes earlier, and then died out shortly after I saw it.

I got a few seconds of video bright enough for the iThingy to record:

and just a bit more, showing a flash of color:

but nothing really spectacular. Sorry 'bout that.

The weather's still cool, but not cold. We've had no more snow, either. There's a bit of good news, though: a sufficient amount has fallen just north of Anchorage so that the Iditarod can start in Willow (its regular launch site) rather than moving to Fairbanks.

That will make the dogs and mushers happy, being as how they won't have to make that 350 mile drive to Fairbanks overnight, after the ceremonial start in Anchorage.

But the snowfall has been spotty this winter. The Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race has been cancelled due to a lack of snow and cold temperatures. According to the Alaska Dispatch News and Fishwrap, that's the third year in a row.

Thanks for stopping by, friends, and be blessed!

Can You See 'Em?

Click to enlarge

This isn't a great photo of the northern lights, this morning, and the iPhone's basic camera isn't the best suited for such a thing. I tried to lighten it a bit, but this is still only a pale version of what is dancing in the skies above Anchorage right now.

I wish all y'all could be here to see it with me.

UPDATE: Here's a MUCH better shot of the same display, taken with a better camera and a time-delay exposure, on the hillside above town (and away from electric lights) by my friend Carl Johnson (from his Facebook page):

Purty, no?

Whales & Northern Lights

I can't muster the enthusiasm to write anything this morning. There's nothing particular on my mind, so ... it's not you. It's me.


So here are some whales in Ketchikan (southeast Alaska, south of Juneau):




And 171 photos of the northern lights here.

Extreme Alaska: Chasing the Northern Lights

Alaskan Photos of the Northern Lights

Viewer photos of the northern lights - some are quite spectacular.

http://www.ktuu.com/UGC-galleries/northern-lights-of-alaska/22959870

Spectacular

I know that today is a day of solemn reflection, sorrow, and shared remembrance of evil that was visited upon us, 14 years ago.

But God is still on His throne, and still in charge. Sometimes, He reminds me of that: there was a very bright, colorful and active auroral display directly over Anchorage this morning, just before 06:00.  Younger Daughter called while I was driving to work, telling me to look up as soon as I parked.

The aurora changed shapes, and occasionally displayed rainbow-like colors (not just green) as they twisted and writhed across the sky. At one point forming a nearly straight line from horizon to horizon, then crescent-shaped, then small enough to be blocked from sight with the palm of my hand.

Then large again. Fluttering, flickering, fading and brightening, and moving like a living thing. Several of us were just standing in the parking lot, staring heavenward with our mouths open.

I'm certain someone who was farther from streetlights will have videoed this display, and I'll put it here as soon as I find it. But they looked a lot like this:

Wow. Just wow!

Alaska's Northern Lights: in Ultra HD

Filmed in subzero temps outside of Fairbanks, this is spectacular!

I strongly recommend watching in full-screen mode, and then click on the little "settings" cog in the lower right-hand corner, and select any of the HD modes.

63 Photos: Northern Lights of Alaska

There's a great collection of pix here, featuring the aurora borealis as captured by locals.

Samples:

Northern Lights and Alaska "Reality" TV

This, from the Alaska Dispatch News:

Massive sunspot could lead to aurora displays through weekend 

Sunspot region AR 2192 could be about to light up the atmosphere over Alaska. Lovers of the aurora borealis should cross their fingers and hope for clear skies.

The National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Centers says a sunspot cluster the size of Jupiter has broken out in region 2192. It's the largest sunspot in 20 years on the earth-facing side of the sun.

"If [the sunspot region] maintains this level of complexity, we still believe more X-class flares are likely, and that should continue for next six or seven days,” researcher Doug Biesecker told The Washington Post. 

CMEs -- coronal mass ejections -- from sunspots are what set the aurora to dancing across the night skies in a rainbow of colors. AR 2192 has so far been low on CMEs, but that could change.

And then there's this one. You may not be watching the Alaska-based reality shows on the Discovery channels (we don't), but one has drawn legal attention:

'Alaskan Bush People' indictments? So what? Reality TV fakers know no bounds

Reality TV as defined in the north these days is Aesop's Fables written by someone sent on a trip by questionable acid. Reality TV is the so-called "Alaskan Bush People" running around in the green light of a night-vision lens trying to confront fictional shooters in the night in the woods near Glennallen and then supposedly fleeing for their lives.

Actual reality -- which is waaay different from TV reality -- is the Bush People getting busted on charges of falsely filing for Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends. And never mind what people can get away with on that phonied up "Alaska State Troopers" show; there are some realities Alaskans take seriously. Lying about living in Alaska in order to collect a PFD is one of those realities.

This is the crime of which six members of the Brown family -- better know as simply the "Bush People" -- stand accused. A Juneau grand jury indicted chief Bush Person Billy Brown and children Amora, Snowbird, Joshua, Bam-Bam, Solomon, Gabriel and Noah on multiple counts of second-degree theft and unsworn falsification for fibbing on their PFD applications.

As if any Alaska reality TV star would ever fib. C'mon, it's not fibbing if it could be real.

Alrighty then. That's all the blogfodder I found this morning. I'm reasonably sure there will be more, later.

Thanks for stopping by, friends.

Video: Northern Lights

Alaska Dispatch News

October 4, 2014

Photographer Ronn Murray shot real-time video footage of autumn aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Murray's video captures northern lights so strong they overpower the nearly full moon and cloudy skies.

(Note: I recommend you watch in full-screen mode)

To See the Northern Lights, Before He Goes Blind

FAIRBANKS - A Texas boy whose sight will soon fade visited Alaska to see landscapes he has long dreamed about.

Nine-year-old Ben Pierce of Dallas was born four months early and weighed just 22 ounces.

"We were warned that he may be blind and deaf and have cerebral palsy among some of the other challenges," said his mother, Heidi.

The boy has overcome many challenges but is quickly losing his eyesight, and realizing his vision is worsening, the family decided to create a list of things to see before he is blind.

Alaska was high on the list, and on the trip here he has seen the Aurora and ridden on a dog sled with Iditarod racer Aliy Zirkle.

"It's really beautiful and pretty," Ben said of the Northern Lights. "It's like water colors going across the sky."

The family plans trips to Turner Falls, Oklahoma, to see Native American dancing, and to visit London and Paris next year.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. ~ Dylan Thomas

If You've Never Seen the Northern Lights

now you can:

Friday Fotos

Yes, I know how to spell "photos" ... but it doesn't alliterate. Deal. :)

All photos are user-submitted, featured at www.ktuu.com:

Alaska ferry the "Aurora", preparing to dock in Valdez.

This picture was taken across the Unalakleet river Wednesday night the 19th of Feb.

On a clear Wednesday night the sky above Hatcher Pass in Palmer was lit up with the northern lights dancing in the sky between 9:00 and 10:00 pm.

Moose walking on the soccer field during sunrise

Northern Lights

Everyone seems to be fascinated with the aurora borealis, visible so often in northern latitudes. The Anchorage Daily News has a collection of reader snapshots here.

Here are a couple, just to whet your appetite:






See the rest at the link.

Spectacular Northern Lights, Last Night

All pics found at https://www.facebook.com/Channel2Weather on their photos page

Northern Lights

Here are some viewer-submitted photos gleaned from KTUU TV's Facebook page:
(click to enlarge)