Aurora Season in Fairbanks, Alaska

Among the most awe-inspiring celestial phenomena, the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, are now in full glory in Fairbanks, Alaska. Families traveling to Fairbanks between now and mid-April will likely see these spectacular natural light shows.

The Auroras are bright bands of light that wave and weave across the night sky at the earth’s polar regions. These natural light shows are caused by magnetic storms triggered by solar activity, such as solar flares (explosions on the sun) or coronal mass ejections (ejected gas bubbles). These shoot out huge clouds of electrically charged particles, some of which eventually collide with the Earth’s magnetic field millions of miles away.

When they collide, the atoms and molecules in the earth’s atmosphere heat them, creating lines of force in the Earth’s magnetic field, which we see as waving lines and “curtains” of light flowing across the sky. When these particles enter the Earth’s magnetic field, they are drawn to the north and south poles, which is why auroras are most common in the polar regions.

You can see northern lights from any place in and around Fairbanks, and locals can suggest prime spots. A favorite is Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, only 2 miles from downtown, where open fields and trails are easy to reach on a well-maintained, paved road.

Another is Chena River State Recreation Area and Chena Hot Springs Road, which has several viewing areas; Chena Hot Springs Resort is a renowned aurora viewing location, about 60 miles from the city. You can get real-time reports on northern lights activity at Aurora Tracker.