Aurora, Fairbanks, Alaska

[David Campbell]

Thought I would share a photo of the Aurora Borealis from a recent trip to Alaska.
This photo was taken on the night of the 17th of March when a large CME hit earth's magnetic field/upper atmosphere.

More Alaska Aurora photos can be found on my website.

Hope you enjoy

[Kevin Gallagher]

 Hey wait a minute there Dave, green Aurora on St. Patrick's Day, are you funnin' us?  Great catch!

[PeterAit]

Fantastic! When I was in Fairbanks a while back there was supposed to be great display but it was CLOUDY the whole time!

[francois]

Good shot, really. The inclusion of trees at the bottom is an excellent thing.
Well seen!

[David Campbell]

It was a colourful St Patrick's day, not just green.

I spent 2 weeks in Fairbanks as I was hoping to get at least 1 week of good weather.
First week was clear with good Aurora, the second week was overcast with poor Aurora.

I am happy with what I saw, especially travelling all the way from Australia.
Also on the 17th, or morning of the 18th, the Aurra Australis was visible from Tasmania, 45min flight from where I live. This is quite rare though.

[Roman Racela]

Great shot!

How was the weather in Fairbanks when you went? I've been wanting to go there to photograph the Northern Lights but hesitant to brave the -40 degree temps.

[David Campbell]

The conditions did not get that cold but if you were not moving or did not have good boots, you would freeze.
Some other people on the tour stayed near the vehicle, thinking they had warmth being able to get out of the wind. These people froze and had a miserable time.
I went in search of better foregrounds and was walking through waist deep snow up and down embankments  so I was toasty warm, sweating in some spots (sweat later froze on my face).
Also, the difference in photo quality was obviously much greater so all the trudging through snow was worth it.

Here is a link to the weather I had. Temperature not that low for Alaska standards but the windchill on some nights made it feel much colder.

[sdwilsonsct]

How was the weather in Fairbanks when you went? I've been wanting to go there to photograph the Northern Lights but hesitant to brave the -40 degree temps.

You'll find Iceland or Sweden a bit warmer.

[David Campbell]

I choose Fairbanks due to its weather patterns (dhielded from bad weather by nearby mountain ranges) and clearer skies at that time of year that coincided with the new moon and predicted solar maximum.
So just because it is cold does not mean that this is a negative thing. It also means higher chances of clear skies.