getonline33

Hey folks. Given the time of year, when all is dark in the far northern latitudes, are the Northern Lights easy to see? Do they appear often, or is it a treat to catch the right electromagnetic field conditions to see them?

Eastbay1K

I've seen some nice displays on several winter flights. However, they seem to be better from the F cabin.

http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/

In the left upper corner, you can click on various views of the forecast.

TrayflowInUK

I always sit on the port side of the acft for eastbound TATLs and I usually see aurora borealis. Usually just a faint green curtain but also have seen some rather impressive displays. Surprisingly, one of the best in recent memory was an IAH-LGW flight on CO, and it wasn't even that far north ... we flew well south of Iceland.

Facedoc

The University of Fairbanks studies the Aurora. They warn that many people believe they are seeing, but are not. At a presentation I attended at the University, the Professor told the audience the Northern Lights can not be seen after April and before late August.

getonline33

That's true. However, it's due to the summer daylight in the northern latitudes rather than attributable to any inherent properties of the aurora. Aurora occur all year around; the magnetic fields don't take a summer vacation.

GadgetFreak

I think there have been some threads on this before. The best display I have seen was on a flight from NRT to JFK. This was in the most recent period of solar maxima a few years ago when the activity averages the highest. We were on a very northerly flight path for that trip, up near the north slope of Alaska. We seemed to be right under the aurora, you could see it out of both sides of the aircraft. It was quite spectacular. I have also seen a very good display at about that same time on a NY-MUN flight that was not so far north, probably near Iceland.

cpx

I've seen them on the flights from NYC-PEK and NYC-DEL a couple of times..
nothing spectacular though.

GadgetFreak

Did some quick checking on the intertubes. That last solar maxima was in 2001. The next one will be in 2012. Estimates are that the 2012 maxima will be the stongest since 1958. During the 1958 maxima the aurora could be seen in Mexico. So it should be quite a display in 2012.

Flews

Well I was born and raised in Northern Ontario and have often watched the Northern Lights from my front yard.

One of the best displays I ever saw in my life was in July. And it was 100% authenticated by the scientists at the local univeristy, as well as NORAD.

Perhaps these Fairbanks professors are talking about views from particular locations? Otherwise, they need to get out more

Cheers,

xanthuos

There are many drawbacks to living here on the prairies in Canada but one plus is the northern lights. I have been privileged to see many displays of the aurora borealis while visiting my family. Having learned to recognize what constituted aurorae, several years ago, I was driving in total rural Kentucky with a friend who lived there. I happened to look out the passenger window and exclaimed "Pull over! There's northern lights!" but of course, he didn't believe me. After several minutes though, I was able to convince him to pull over to the shoulder. It was November 8th, 2004 and a coronal mass ejection had caused aurorae that could be seen as far south as Kentucky! At first he was skeptical, but when the colors in the sky started dancing, he was convinced.

uva185

vysean posted this image over in the Travel Photography forum. He took it on the way to Europe over north-central Canada.

http://www.biatphotography.com/ft-mi...urora_crop.jpg

Green Dragon

So does that mean there is a chance (albiet a small one) of seeing the aurora borealis when I visit northern Scotland next June? We'll be up in the Orkneys during summer solstice.

MileageAddict

Most spectacular aurora borealis showing I ever saw was on a redeye NW flight SEA-DTW about 15 years ago. Even the flight attendants were captivated by the view.

alanh

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0523538/M/

You can't say "never" (at the last maxima, it was visible as far south as Arizona), but your chances of seeing an aurora this summer are near nil.

clarence5ybr

I've seen some amazing NLs from northern Minnesota during the summer months.

I believe that as getonline33 alluded to, the inability to see the aurora in Alaska in the summer is the result of the fact that there is no "night" (or at least no darkness) in Alaska during the summer months, so they aren't visible to the naked eye.