Sky high — Rating system puts northern lights in reach

By Naomi Klouda

Photo courtesy of the Homer Tribune. Northern lights sparkle high above the mountains during a recent spurt of solar flare activity.

Homer Tribune

For those who follow aurora borealis displays, all the right conditions are aligning for further exhibits of the dancing lights in the days ahead. Watch for large geomagnetic storms hitting Earth at night, and don’t forget to look straight up.

That’s just one piece of advice from famed northern lights photographer, Dennis C. Anderson, of Homer, who goes whole years without this kind of luck, when long winter months drag on  with little to no solar flare activity. When an active stretch such as this comes along, he sleeps just a few hours a day.

“We’ve had some great shows,” Anderson said Monday morning. In the rareness of his work, Anderson uses hand-built cameras he calls “Franken cams,” film and 100-year-old photography methods for slowing down exposures to capture the northern lights. Anderson was featured in the Washington Post this week along with his photos.

As for the alignment of fortuitous events, these are it: On a scale of KP 0-9, 9 being the best, Thursday offered the most impressive series of dancing lights. It came at a KP-5, Anderson calculates.

“A KP-5 is a large geomagnetic storm. It will be seen as soon as it gets dark and it might put on several shows during the night. There were at least four sub shows that night,” Anderson said. “We had aurora visible by 9 p.m. with the first storm by 9:30 and another after 11 p.m. A third one came at 2:15 a.m. and a fourth was predawn around 5:30 a.m. That’s the best we’ve had here for a number of years.”

High lights of winter — Photographers in for long exposure to aurora

By Jenny Neyman

Photos courtesy of Mark Pierson, http://www.kenaiimages.com. Kenai photographer Mark Pierson took this shot of the aurora reflecting in the Kenai River from the Kalifornsky Beach Road side of the Warren Ames Memorial Bridge, facing Kenai. This was taken with about a 45-second exposure, around 4 a.m. Cars were passing to illuminate the bridge. The glow to the left is the city of Kenai. The yellow glow to the right is from Soldotna city lights.

Redoubt Reporter

Looking for a bright spot in the dark, cold run-up to winter solstice, Dec. 21? Try looking up. The northern lights are back.

“This should be a good year for them,” said Andy Veh, professor of astronomy and physics at Kenai Peninsula College’s Kenai River Campus.

Aurora displays are caused by sunspots — magnetic storms on the sun. Sunspots produce particles called solar wind, mostly consisting of electrons and protons, that shoot out toward Earth. When solar wind particles collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, it can cause light emissions as the particles slam into the atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere.

Sunspot activity runs on an average 11-year cycle, with some years being active, and some not so much. Sunspot activity was low in 2006 through 2008, and the winter of 2010-11 should be active again, Veh said, building to a peak in 2013. So far this fall and winter, there have been plenty of clear nights in which to see the aurora.

The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks generates a daily aurora forecast ranking activity on a scale from zero to nine. There were two times in November when activity was forecasted to reach a moderate three level — Nov. 2 and 3 and Nov. 29 —producing displays visible low on the northern horizon as far south as a curving swath from Bethel to Soldotna to Southeast Alaska. So far in December, aurora activity reached a moderate forecast on Sunday, coinciding with a crisp, clear night sky — perfect for viewing northern lights.

Some may reach for fuzzy slippers and electric blankets on nights like Sunday, when temperatures dip below zero. Others, like Mark Pierson, grab their camera equipment.

“When the sun sets a lot of people put their cameras away and really miss out on some opportunities,” said Pierson, of Kenai. “I always kind of liked that low-light photography. It can add a lot of drama and mystery to a photograph when you take it at night, rather than day.”

No glow — Low point in sunspot cycle means little chance of Northern Lights

By Jenny Neyman
Redoubt Reporter

Clear night skies are a trade-off in Alaska. They make for frigidly cold temperatures, but they also make it possible to see one of the most colorful perks to living in the North — the aurora borealis.

Except this year. When it’s clear, it’s just cold, with little chance of getting a light show.

Aurora displays are caused by sunspots — magnetic storms on the sun. Sunspots produce particles — mostly electrons and protons — called solar wind, that shoot out toward Earth. When solar wind particles collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, it can cause light emissions as the particles slam into the atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere.

Sunspot activity runs on an 11-year cycle, with some years being active, and some not so much. This would be a not-so-much year.

Andy Veh, professor of astronomy and physics at Kenai Peninsula College Kenai River Campus, said the sunspot cycle was at its maximum activity level in 2000 and 2001, and will be most active again in 2010 and 2011. But 2006 through 2008 is the low point in the cycle.

“Right now it’s, well, if you get a clear night, which are few and far between, and then you look, if it’s not there, it’s not there. If you have good luck, then it’s there. I have to admit I didn’t see any last year. This year, maybe one, I’m not sure. If they don’t move a lot, it’s tough to distinguish them from high clouds,” Veh said.

But just because the northern lights are a no-show this winter, doesn’t mean people should ignore the night sky. There are plenty of other reasons to look up.

“Instead of looking at the aurora, I noticed that Venus is out,” Veh said. “I was surprised when I saw it. I thought it was too far below the horizon in Alaska, but it’s really nice. It’s really bright when you’re driving at night to the south.”

When clear skies do happen at night, Veh recommends taking advantage of them.
“Astronomy is really hard in Alaska. It has to be really cold in order to get clear skies. So every other week we get a couple of nice nights,” he said. “The winter sky is nice because when they’re out, the brightest stars are in the winter.”

Orion, Taurus and Gemini are plenty bright and visible to the naked eye. Saturn can also be seen this time of year, rising after midnight in the east.

The Geminids meteor shower was covered by clouds last week, but the Quadrantids meteor shower may be visible to early risers on Jan. 4. Watch the sky around 6 a.m. for streaks of lights.

A good viewing spot away from man-made lights makes it easier to appreciate nature’s night lights. Veh said traveling on the Sterling Highway toward the mountains offers some dark pullouts that are good for stargazing. In town, Bridge Access Road is a decent spot, although passing traffic can interfere.

“The Kenai beach, as far as accessibility is concerned, the beach is good because you have a free view to the west and south, which you don’t have anywhere else,” he said.

Just don’t forget your mittens, since clear nights this time of year usually mean temperatures at or below zero.

No glow — Low point in sunspot cycle means little chance of Northern Lights

By Jenny Neyman
Redoubt Reporter

Clear night skies are a trade-off in Alaska. They make for frigidly cold temperatures, but they also make it possible to see one of the most colorful perks to living in the North — the aurora borealis.

Except this year. When it’s clear, it’s just cold, with little chance of getting a light show.

Aurora displays are caused by sunspots — magnetic storms on the sun. Sunspots produce particles — mostly electrons and protons — called solar wind, that shoot out toward Earth. When solar wind particles collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, it can cause light emissions as the particles slam into the atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere.

Sunspot activity runs on an 11-year cycle, with some years being active, and some not so much. This would be a not-so-much year.

Andy Veh, professor of astronomy and physics at Kenai Peninsula College Kenai River Campus, said the sunspot cycle was at its maximum activity level in 2000 and 2001, and will be most active again in 2010 and 2011. But 2006 through 2008 is the low point in the cycle.

“Right now it’s, well, if you get a clear night, which are few and far between, and then you look, if it’s not there, it’s not there. If you have good luck, then it’s there. I have to admit I didn’t see any last year. This year, maybe one, I’m not sure. If they don’t move a lot, it’s tough to distinguish them from high clouds,” Veh said.

But just because the northern lights are a no-show this winter, doesn’t mean people should ignore the night sky. There are plenty of other reasons to look up.

“Instead of looking at the aurora, I noticed that Venus is out,” Veh said. “I was surprised when I saw it. I thought it was too far below the horizon in Alaska, but it’s really nice. It’s really bright when you’re driving at night to the south.”

When clear skies do happen at night, Veh recommends taking advantage of them.
“Astronomy is really hard in Alaska. It has to be really cold in order to get clear skies. So every other week we get a couple of nice nights,” he said. “The winter sky is nice because when they’re out, the brightest stars are in the winter.”

Orion, Taurus and Gemini are plenty bright and visible to the naked eye. Saturn can also be seen this time of year, rising after midnight in the east.

The Geminids meteor shower was covered by clouds last week, but the Quadrantids meteor shower may be visible to early risers on Jan. 4. Watch the sky around 6 a.m. for streaks of lights.

A good viewing spot away from man-made lights makes it easier to appreciate nature’s night lights. Veh said traveling on the Sterling Highway toward the mountains offers some dark pullouts that are good for stargazing. In town, Bridge Access Road is a decent spot, although passing traffic can interfere.

“The Kenai beach, as far as accessibility is concerned, the beach is good because you have a free view to the west and south, which you don’t have anywhere else,” he said.

Just don’t forget your mittens, since clear nights this time of year usually mean temperatures at or below zero.