see an aurora borealis

Iwish thiss__

I have not seen the northern lights for ten years! Where have they gone? I keep looking for them, but no luck.

As my parents and I enjoyed breakfast one morning at a quaint hotel recently, my Dad and I were discussing various aspects of universities and how they differ from place to place. We were talking about Cambridge (the pass or fail system) when a gentleman sitting at a table nearby politely interjected. He introduced himself and stated that he was a Professor of Astronomy at a University in Colorado; he was intrigued by our conversation. He turned out to be a very interesting guy, and somehow we got into a discussion about Alaska. He shared that each year hundreds of pregnant Japanese women migrate to Alaska to have their babies since it’s said that giving birth to a child under the Northern Lights signifies that they will have a fortunate life. When he found out what my name was, he was pretty fascinated by the coincidence and handed me his business card, saying that we should all keep in touch. Apparently, almost every year, he and his colleagues, and students travel to the wilderness of Alaska! Meeting him and hearing his stories made me want to fulfill this goal of going there and seeing the Northern Lights even more!!

It would be the icing on the cake to take a cruise to Alaska and to somehow see an Aurora Borealis in the process. I want to see in person what I was named after :D

The Northern Lights are a beautiful thing indeed. If you can, take pictures too!

On the red eye flight, I decided to open the window shutter thing to see if I could see anything on the ground since we were passing by near the north pole, despite it being completely dark. And to my astonishment, there were faint green squiggles in the sky (I wish I could come up with a more poetic way to describe them… but I’m not a poet.) I was so excited but everyone was asleep and I was really tempted to wake up everyone around me although I was traveling alone, and did not know anyone. I wasn’t even sure if they really were actually northern lights… but I did a bit of research to check if they can actually be seen from planes, and I’m pretty damn sure I did! It’s actually one of the things to do on my “before I die” list, and it was so amazing I was sure God was granting me one last wish before the plane crashed or something. It wasn’t that great of an aurora, but it sure saved me alot of money by sparing me the trip to alaska one day. But I need to see it again, and hopefully an even more beautiful one!

On a red eye plane ride from Seattle back to university in Ohio one very cold February in 2001…I saw the aurora borealis or the northern lights as some people call it. I was dumbstruck by the sight…the emotion that engulfed me and brought tears to my eyes. The colors, the waves of light that pulsated and throbbed together in a symphony of eye candy…I felt God at this moment. It was as if he was smiling at me, telling me everything would be ok.

i went this summer in iceland_ unfortunately, you can only see aurora borealis in winter_ but nevertheless, this trip was fantastic! i saw the never ending daylight, and maybe some elves…

If you want to increase your chances of seeing aurora borealis, try to go as far north as possible, and try to pick a very dark place—preferrably with open prairies. I have had great luck catching them in north-central Minnesota and North Dakota. I am sure Canada and Alaska would work great. Solar flares are unpredictable, but websites such as this one from from Michigam Tech have great links on where you can get a forecast and more information on where to find aurora borealis. Check this site as well for solar-flare forecasts.

If you are already north, this weekend might be the time to do it. I heard there’s going to be a lot of activity until Tuesday, so if you can afford to stay up late and find a place without city lights, I suggest you give it a try. My husband and I tried staying up last night, but couldn’t. However, my friend did, and he was rewarded with some excellent photos.

Good luck!

see an aurora borealis and the never ending day…