Northern Lights in Alaska

[KruzPrincess]

I've read that it's near impossible to see northern lights in Alaska in the summer months because there's too much light at night. That makes sense. The info I read says northern lights may be seen between August 21 to April 21. My first Alaska cruise (many years ago) was on the old Island Princess in early September. We did not see any northern lights. Last year, I went in July on the Coral Princess. Needless to say, no northern lights were seen. I normally like the idea of cruising to Alaska in July, but I recently added northern lights to my bucket list. I'm wondering if anyone has actually seen northern lights on an Alaska cruises in September. I just had a spur of the moment thought about booking a September cruise and am wondering if there's a chance I might see them. I know there's no guarantee. So, has anyone seen them...and when? Thanks.

[Aus Traveller]

We saw fantastic displays of the northern lights, but not while we were on the ship. To give you dates - we left Vancouver on 16th August on a cruise to Seward (Anchorage). We then hired a motorhome to travel around Alaska for 11 days and it is in this time that we saw the Northern lights.

 

To choose a date and place -

1. Go as close to winter as you can. You are correct in saying that the lights are not usually visible in summer because the sky doesn't get dark enough.

2. You will see better displays when the moon is not in the sky. This is equally important.

3. The sun has an eleven year cycle and there is more auroral activity at this time. We have just passed the peak of this cycle, but unfortunately it was not a particularly active one. If you want to go - go this year or next because the solar activity will be waning.

4. The main area where the aurora is seen is a circle around the earth at 20 degrees from the magnetic pole. This passes directly over Fairbanks. When there are strong displays, they extend further from the pole.

 

I have to mention the auroral displays we saw while we were staying in State Parks were absolutely spectacular. We had three really clear nights where the displays went on for hours.

Edited July 2, 2014 by Aus Traveller

[JoKen1]

It's my dream of seeing the lights. However, I was told that the cruise ships don't really go up far enough to see them and you really need to do a land trip.

 

I went twice on a cruise there and hoped I would see them too but I didn't. So I asked some of the staff on board and they told me it's almost impossible to see them on the ship :(

[giselleacttwo]

They are often visible in September in the Interior, but yeah, you'd really have to do a land portion to have much of a chance at that. Denali, Fairbanks, and McKinley are all far enough north to give you a shot at it.

[new kiwi girl]

When I lived in southern Alberta Canada, we frequently saw northern lights and that's much farther south than Alaska. Usually happens when no full moons, a clear night, and see them much better when no artificial lights are around you. Such as out in the countryside away from street lights. We were fortunate to be able to see them in the summer and winter, and just magical. Now that I've moved to NZ it's one of the things I miss the most.

[Illyria]

We'll be doing a cruisetour in Alaska in mid-September, and I booked a northern lights tour out of Fairbanks. Keeping my fingers crossed! :)

[Budget Queen]

For northern lights that are a priority, you HAVE to stack up your time. Multiple days invested. It is also necessary to daily, check your prediction tables. It's a waste of time, to consider looking for the "next week", since they can and do change- daily- bottom line.

 

Not sure about the above- Aurora "tour", but again my opinion, this has an extremely low chance of sightings, if it's a single day? The only way I would consider paying for any "tour" would be multiple days. Only a point- but any "tour" is going to be fixed on time, and the "sky" is open to anyone. Out of Fairbanks- it is darn simple to just have a rental car and there are numerous places you can drive to with clear viewing. I like just past the Chena Highway, pulling over on the hill, of the Steese. Of course, you do have to haul yourself out, but your time is your own. My preference is to stay where all I do is walk/look outside. I have seen aurora several times on my "regular in season" Alaska trips in both August and Sept. I have also made 2 winter trips, of 2 weeks each, in March- which is a superb time- 12 hours of daylight, milder temps, Ice Sculpting Championships going on, etc.

 

I frequently see people "planning" on seeing aurora, but it usually doesn't happen. Luck and time are the biggest factors, along with being in the right areas. It's a pure gift.

[AKStafford]

Here's a great page for tracking aurora activity:

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

[Trend]

We live in the north end of Toronto Ontario and have had some summer nights with a great display of colour even with city lights. It is memorable!

[KruzPrincess]

Thanks everyone. I guess it's unlikely to see them from a cruise ship then since no one mentioned seeing them that way. I may have to think about a land trip. I just love cruising so much and it would be great if I could get both at the same time. I know we've had some sightings here in MN, but I live in the city and we don't see them here. It's not nearly as common as in Alaska either. I thought it was more likely to get to see them from a cruise ship. I'll have to do some more studying on this. Thanks, again.

[Northern Aurora]

While we can see the auroras in Fairbanks in late August the best time period for viewing tends to be late September/early October to late March/early April. My birthday is in late April, and I don't ever remember seeing an aurora on my birthdate.

 

The Geophysical Institute (at the University of Alaska Fairbanks) has the best website regarding aurora forecasts, and is the one provided by AKStafford.

[Illyria]

For northern lights that are a priority, you HAVE to stack up your time. Multiple days invested. It is also necessary to daily, check your prediction tables. It's a waste of time, to consider looking for the "next week", since they can and do change- daily- bottom line.

 

Not sure about the above- Aurora "tour", but again my opinion, this has an extremely low chance of sightings, if it's a single day? The only way I would consider paying for any "tour" would be multiple days. Only a point- but any "tour" is going to be fixed on time, and the "sky" is open to anyone. Out of Fairbanks- it is darn simple to just have a rental car and there are numerous places you can drive to with clear viewing. I like just past the Chena Highway, pulling over on the hill, of the Steese. Of course, you do have to haul yourself out, but your time is your own. My preference is to stay where all I do is walk/look outside. I have seen aurora several times on my "regular in season" Alaska trips in both August and Sept. I have also made 2 winter trips, of 2 weeks each, in March- which is a superb time- 12 hours of daylight, milder temps, Ice Sculpting Championships going on, etc.

 

I frequently see people "planning" on seeing aurora, but it usually doesn't happen. Luck and time are the biggest factors, along with being in the right areas. It's a pure gift.

 

I don't "plan", I "hope" :) It'll cost almost as much to rent a car as to take that tour, and I don't want the hassle. I'm okay with getting unlucky and not seeing any lights - I'll just enjoy the fresh air out in the middle of nowhere, it's still better that sitting at the hotel.

 

We went to Iceland for 4 days earlier this spring and didn't see any northern lights, but apparently 2 days before we arrived, they had some record activity. It didn't make our trip any less amazing, it's just one of those things - some day we'll get lucky!

[donaldsc]

I've read that it's near impossible to see northern lights in Alaska in the summer months because there's too much light at night. That makes sense. The info I read says northern lights may be seen between August 21 to April 21. My first Alaska cruise (many years ago) was on the old Island Princess in early September. We did not see any northern lights. Last year, I went in July on the Coral Princess. Needless to say, no northern lights were seen. I normally like the idea of cruising to Alaska in July, but I recently added northern lights to my bucket list. I'm wondering if anyone has actually seen northern lights on an Alaska cruises in September. I just had a spur of the moment thought about booking a September cruise and am wondering if there's a chance I might see them. I know there's no guarantee. So, has anyone seen them...and when? Thanks.

 

If you really want to see aurora and it is that important to you, fly to Fairbanks any time between say January to March when there is no moon, head north, and plan to stay for a week. That increases you odds significantly but not to 100% so be prepared to go home without seeing them. Just remember to bring every bit of cold weather clothing that you can own or borrow and be prepared to buy more stuff in Fairbanks.

 

That is what I did (I went to Chena Hot Springs) and I was extremely lucky and got good displays every night.

 

DON

[azevedan]

We went to Iceland for 4 days earlier this spring and didn't see any northern lights, but apparently 2 days before we arrived, they had some record activity. It didn't make our trip any less amazing, it's just one of those things - some day we'll get lucky!

 

We did a long weekend in Iceland (those great deals on Icelandair!) in February and were fortunate to catch 2 nights of great displays out of the 3. We were outside of the city; dark skies. The whole week prior, there had only been one night with them. So it is a crap shoot. We did shoot for a weekend with no moon until long past when we'd be in bed.

 

Our absolute best display was in Acadia National Park in Maine in early September one year. Purely a chance occurrence, especially still wandering around late enough to catch the display!

[KruzPrincess]

Thanks again, everyone. I have to do some thinking on this. I don't think I'd be doing a land trip to Alaska in the middle of winter. It's already to cold for me living in MN. I'll do some more research. I was mostly curious if anyone ever saw them from a ship.