Fairbanks

(Fairbanks, AK) -- An Interior Alaska winter is a parade of wonders. Artists from across the globe gather here to carve majestic sculptures out of some of the clearest ice in the world, and hardy animal lovers race dog sleds thousands of miles through the wilderness in subzero temperatures. On particularly cold days, one can even toss boiling water into the air and watch it come down in frozen particles. The grand marshal of this winter parade is the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights. These brilliant curtains of red, blue, green and white lights have captured people’s imagination for years, and today they are making Fairbanks a premiere destination for winter travelers from around the world.

Over the centuries, people have explained the northern lights in a myriad of ways. One Eskimo legend states that the lights are spirits carrying torches to guide nomadic travelers to the afterlife. Gold rush era prospectors professed that the lights were reflections of light shining on the mother lode of gold. 

While these stories make for great campfire chats, scientists explain them differently. The northern lights are produced by electrons and protons that originate in solar storms. Much like electricity in a neon sign, they give off energy when they strike gas particles in the earth's upper atmosphere. Although it often appears to be almost close enough to touch, the light is actually generated between 68 and 200 miles above the earth.

The color of the northern lights ranges from red and purple to green and white. The brightest and most common colors are yellow and green. Visible from the end of August until early April, the phenomenon takes place year-round. However, the midnight sun keeps the skies too bright to see the aurora in the summer months.

Fairbanks’ location makes it one of the best places on earth to see the northern lights. In fact, auroral research is a specialty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Scientists at the university issue a weekly aurora forecast, predicting where and when auroral displays will be most intense. 

These celestial pyrotechnic displays have triggered an influx of winter visitors to Interior Alaska. Aurora viewing in Alaska is particularly popular among the Japanese, who place a special value on witnessing the aurora at least once in a lifetime.

The northern lights are beautiful and mysterious. While you can see pictures of them in books and on video, nothing matches the experience of seeing them in person. Pay a visit to Fairbanks in winter, and you’ll soon see why.