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Surprise on last night's dog walk, Aurora Borealis! More pics added. Login/Join 
Jack of All Trades,
Master of Nothing
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So walked out the door and saw this from my driveway.



A little early for the Lights, but if I get to see them without freezing my ass off, I'm not complaining.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 2000Z-71,




My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
 
Posts: 11919 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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WHOA! Eek



"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24
 
Posts: 11066 | Location: NW Houston | Registered: April 04, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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That's beautiful-
 
Posts: 392 | Location: South Florida | Registered: December 14, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Serenity now!
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Beautiful! I've only seen them once or twice from North Dakota, and they were nowhere near as brilliant.



Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice - pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ
 
Posts: 4950 | Location: Highland, UT | Registered: September 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Stunning. There was recent high levels of solar activity (massive solar flare), likely the cause of the earlier and more dramatic Lights.
 
Posts: 701 | Registered: March 08, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Awesome!

It's on my bucket list. Still trying to figure out how to assure seeing it if I take the trip somewhere. I'd probably only have a 1 week window at most.




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
 
Posts: 13166 | Location: In the gilded cage | Registered: December 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Jack of All Trades,
Master of Nothing
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quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Awesome!

It's on my bucket list. Still trying to figure out how to assure seeing it if I take the trip somewhere. I'd probably only have a 1 week window at most.

It's not easy. The solar forecast and the weather forecast actually have to cooperate to see them. Location also makes a huge difference. We do not see them nearly as much in Anchorage as they do in Fairbanks. There are some lodges in the Fairbanks area that specialize in Aurora viewing. Just plan on staying for a few nights to increase your chances of seeing them. I'd also suggest planning your trip to take in the Iditarod or the International Ice Sculpture Festival in Fairbanks. That way if you miss seeing the Lights, at east the trip wasn't a bust.




My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
 
Posts: 11919 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Drill Here, Drill Now
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A little early for the Lights, but if I get to see them without freezing my ass off, I'm not complaining.

Beautiful.

For me, the most frustrating part of the Northern lights was getting up in the middle of the night, freezing my ass off, and there being unexpected cloud cover. I can't count how many times the weather guessers were wrong and I got skunked.



Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
 
Posts: 23802 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just for the
hell of it
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That's awesome. I've tried to see them before but it never worked out.


_____________________________________

Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. Jack Kerouac
 
Posts: 16475 | Registered: March 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just for the
hell of it
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quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Awesome!

It's on my bucket list. Still trying to figure out how to assure seeing it if I take the trip somewhere. I'd probably only have a 1 week window at most.


You have to have good planning and then get lucky. I did a trip to Iceland. Part of the trip was hoping to see the Northern Lights. We did it at the best time of year. The solar forecast was excellent but we ended up with clouds every evening and even had rain/snow at times. People saw them the week before we went and after we left. Still an amazing trip though.

I've done a bunch of nature photography. You can have the best plans and do everything right but Mother Nature has the final say.


_____________________________________

Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. Jack Kerouac
 
Posts: 16475 | Registered: March 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I've been BLESSED to have seen Aurora Borealis from FL350 en route from ORD to WPG, but they were not the brilliant color that 2000Z saw. They were very pastel blue and green, but we did see a "wave effect" in the lights. They went away on descent at about FL200...



"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24
 
Posts: 11066 | Location: NW Houston | Registered: April 04, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Jack of All Trades,
Master of Nothing
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quote:
Originally posted by tatortodd:
quote:
A little early for the Lights, but if I get to see them without freezing my ass off, I'm not complaining.

Beautiful.

For me, the most frustrating part of the Northern lights was getting up in the middle of the night, freezing my ass off, and there being unexpected cloud cover. I can't count how many times the weather guessers were wrong and I got skunked.

My usual luck with the Lights is green fuzz. I can't tell you how many times I've gone out chasing to see nothing more than a little green fuzz on the horizon all while freezing my ass off. The great shows I've seen have been totally unplanned just right place and right time.




My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
 
Posts: 11919 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
It's not easy. The solar forecast and the weather forecast actually have to cooperate to see them. Location also makes a huge difference. We do not see them nearly as much in Anchorage as they do in Fairbanks. There are some lodges in the Fairbanks area that specialize in Aurora viewing. Just plan on staying for a few nights to increase your chances of seeing them. I'd also suggest planning your trip to take in the Iditarod or the International Ice Sculpture Festival in Fairbanks. That way if you miss seeing the Lights, at east the trip wasn't a bust.


Thanks. Good idea.




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
 
Posts: 13166 | Location: In the gilded cage | Registered: December 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
His diet consists of black
coffee, and sarcasm.
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I've been BLESSED to have seen Aurora Borealis from FL350 en route from ORD to WPG,

Is that SOP for DOAs from the FAA?
 
Posts: 28890 | Location: Johnson City, TN | Registered: April 28, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
always with a hat or sunscreen
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They were visible here last night although you needed to get away from the city lights.

Best I ever saw was in Canada, back in the early '70s about 4 hours straight north from Lake Ontario on a motorcycle trip.



Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club!
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Posts: 16584 | Location: Black Hills of South Dakota | Registered: June 20, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Jack of All Trades,
Master of Nothing
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A few more from last night. I got lucky, got in from walking Bandit and watched for a while through my bedroom window. Was just about to go out and chase but then the fog rolled in. Happened to look out around 0500 and the skies were clear and green! Grabbed Bandit, grabbed my camera and went up to the Baldy Trailhead to get a few shots in before sunrise. I absolutely love the one with the horizon lit up by the sunrise with the green Aurora hanging over it.











My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
 
Posts: 11919 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Very nice. Seeing that in person is on my bucket list. Someday.


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Posts: 1924 | Location: Las Vegas | Registered: November 05, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Awesome shots, thanks for posting.
 
Posts: 3678 | Location: Texas Hill Country | Registered: July 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
As Extraordinary
as Everyone Else
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quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Awesome!

It's on my bucket list. Still trying to figure out how to assure seeing it if I take the trip somewhere. I'd probably only have a 1 week window at most.


We went on a cruise with Hurtigruten Expeditions and found out on their northern cruises they guarantee that you will see them or get another cruise free...
We went to Antarctica so didn't see any haha.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: smlsig,


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Our Founding Fathers were men who understood that the right thing is not necessarily the written thing. -kkina
 
Posts: 6485 | Location: In transit | Registered: February 19, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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That's really cool! Brings back memories being up in Fairbanks seeing them!




...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV
 
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