Sept 2019 Aurora help needed

[PRPLE]

We will be on a HAL land itenerary...  on our bucket list is to hopefully view the Aurora Borealis... yes I know it’s iffy but it’s possible and I needed some suggests...

 

Looking at our excursions we have two nights in Fairbanks Sept 1 & 2 and a couple nights in anchorage Sept 6 & 7

 

HAL does offer thru their excursions a option in Fairbanks only on the 2nd that takes  us to a yurt

 

im thinking I should also try to see on the 1st... from what I have read Fairbanks is s better possibility than anchorage???

 

since we won’t have a car I need to arrange with one of the tour operators... but there are several... trying to figure out who to book with... trying to determine if the HAL excursion works or should I select differently?

 

appreciate everyone’s thoughts and experiences as I get things arranged for our first trip to Alaska !

 

 

[masterdrago]

Good luck with your quest. We'll be there in May and our only transient event is a good Bore Tide on the 17th at 2:45pm at Beluga Point. You may have a good opportunity to catch one also. See  https://www.anchorage.net/blog/alaska-bore-tide-viewing/

My thoughts would run anytime between the 1st and 6th (very little moon interference). You will have dark skies from 11:09pm until 4:27am on the 3rd (0% moon interference) at Fairbanks. But, much less light pollution 50 miles south of Cantwell. Do a search for light pollution map. lightpollutionmap.info. Also https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/fairbanks

[PRPLE]

Thanks haven’t researched anchorage yet

[Northern Aurora]

While I realize I am stating the obvious, but Fairbanks is significantly farther north than Anchorage and has less light pollution in general.   In Fairbanks we will can start to view auroras in late August.   As long as you are out of Fairbanks "proper" (and its light pollution) aurora viewing can be spectacular even very close to town.  I don't understand the Cantwell reference in post #2.  

 

But for aurora viewing ideas/options please go to the Fairbanks Visitor and Convention Bureau website (www.explorefairbanks.com).  From there go to "Explore the Area," and then to "Aurora Season."  From there you will find a list of tour operators.  While there are several aurora forecast websites try the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute website (www.gi.alaska.edu).

[masterdrago]

Hey Northern Aurora, if you take a look at the light pollution map in post #2, you'll see where the area of lesser light pollution is in relation to Anchorage and Fairbanks - halfway between Cantwell and Trapper Creek (50 miles south of Cantwell on highway A4). The yellow colored rim around Fairbanks and surrounding Healy & Anderson represents Bortle class 4 skies (about as bright as my yard 55 miles north of Houston, Tx.) with an SQM reading of ~20.9ish. This is the kind of skies that most folks can see stars to ~5th magnitude. The skies 50mi s of Cantwell have Bortle class 1 (SQM 22.0). Much darker with a naked eye limit closer to 7th magnitude. That's over 6 times darker skies. Therefore, fainter aurora can be seen from the darker skies. All I was trying to say is to see the aurora at their best, get to the darkest areas. Clearly, the Denali area has a lot of very dark skies. And for the OP, the moon will not be a factor the first week of September if they observe after 11pm (when it gets dark).

Sure, auroras can be seen from light polluted areas. I saw an awesome display not far from my house on March 13th 1989. But they are always better seen if no lights nearby interfere. See my attachments for moonset times and light pollution map of area near Denali.

[PRPLE]

Yes I found the list of your operators... anyone have recommendations on who they used in the past?  

[masterdrago]

11 hours ago, PRPLE said:

We will be on a HAL land itenerary...  on our bucket list is to hopefully view the Aurora Borealis... yes I know it’s iffy but it’s possible and I needed some suggests...

 

Looking at our excursions we have two nights in Fairbanks Sept 1 & 2 and a couple nights in anchorage Sept 6 & 7

 

HAL does offer thru their excursions a option in Fairbanks only on the 2nd that takes  us to a yurt

 

im thinking I should also try to see on the 1st... from what I have read Fairbanks is s better possibility than anchorage???

 

since we won’t have a car I need to arrange with one of the tour operators... but there are several... trying to figure out who to book with... trying to determine if the HAL excursion works or should I select differently?

 

appreciate everyone’s thoughts and experiences as I get things arranged for our first trip to Alaska !

 

 

If I were going to be in Alaska when the sky has some real dark time (11p-4:30a) and no moon interference, here is what I would do.... spaceweather dot com can be useful (take a look at the aurora gallery there) but I would take a gander at the forecast pages at https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast

 

Based on what I see there, or not, I would rent a car and drive to the darkest area I could find when the weather might be clear so that I could watch the sky during dark time (11p-4:30a). Forget about sleeping. If the aurora pops, you will be so pumped, sleep will be the last thing on your mind. If one of the tour operators can get you to dark skies, then by all means use them. There is a very large coronal hole that swings around every 27 days, repeatedly pointing at Earth. This has somewhat enhanced the predictions. An awesome movie from the south pole can be found at

 

[wolfie11]

19 hours ago, masterdrago said:

Hey Northern Aurora, if you take a look at the light pollution map in post #2, you'll see where the area of lesser light pollution is in relation to Anchorage and Fairbanks - halfway between Cantwell and Trapper Creek (50 miles south of Cantwell on highway A4). The yellow colored rim around Fairbanks and surrounding Healy & Anderson represents Bortle class 4 skies (about as bright as my yard 55 miles north of Houston, Tx.) with an SQM reading of ~20.9ish. This is the kind of skies that most folks can see stars to ~5th magnitude. The skies 50mi s of Cantwell have Bortle class 1 (SQM 22.0). Much darker with a naked eye limit closer to 7th magnitude. That's over 6 times darker skies. Therefore, fainter aurora can be seen from the darker skies. All I was trying to say is to see the aurora at their best, get to the darkest areas. Clearly, the Denali area has a lot of very dark skies. And for the OP, the moon will not be a factor the first week of September if they observe after 11pm (when it gets dark).

Sure, auroras can be seen from light polluted areas. I saw an awesome display not far from my house on March 13th 1989. But they are always better seen if no lights nearby interfere. See my attachments for moonset times and light pollution map of area near Denali.

 

Sorry, but I don’t believe this map takes into account the topography of Fairbanks, which is surrounded by hills.  From my place in the Goldstream Valley, about 8 miles from town, there is very little light pollution.  Up Murphy Dome Road another few miles, there is virtually none.

[masterdrago]

All I'm saying is that the best aurora views will be from the darkest locations. Fifty miles south of Cantwell is much darker than the yellow/orange border of radiance from Fairbanks near Goldstream Rd. The area your referencing has the same amount of skyglow as my backyard 55 miles north of Houston, Tx. I've done observing from Big Bend National Park remote campsite and I suspect that the Area SE of Denali is similar - far darker than my backyard or Goldstream Valley. Light pollution (sky glow) lights the air in the sky, not the surroundings, thus lowers the contrast and limiting naked eye magnitude. It just simply makes the sky brighter by scattered radiance of lighting from the ground. I suggest getting an SQM and doing your own readings and contribute data or simply recording your naked eye limiting magnitude - charts at http://www.project-nightflight.net/limiting_mag.pdf. I hiked Alaska for a couple of weeks in August of 1995. Mostly in the Chugach Mountain area out of Anchorage. I remember it being very dark, but did not do any active observing nor any SQM readings of the night sky. For a better understanding of how this is done, read information at the two links below.

 

http://dataservices.gfz-potsdam.de/contact/showshort.php?id=escidoc:1541893&contactform

 

http://www.lightpollution.it/dmsp/intro.html

[PRPLE]

Please all... I limited on MY options as I’ll be on a land tour with HAL... NOT renting a car!    Im asking for your operator advice!  And advice on the excursion via HAL if you know about that!

 

while the discussion on the aurora and potential darkness options is interesting can we get back to my ORIGINAL post?

 

THANKS

[masterdrago]

Well PRPL, I'm really sorry I got in the way of your original question. I was hoping to provide some assistance but apparently have just muddied up the conversation. Good luck. And again sorry.

[Northern Aurora]

On 2/5/2019 at 4:46 PM, wolfie11 said:

 

Sorry, but I don’t believe this map takes into account the topography of Fairbanks, which is surrounded by hills.  From my place in the Goldstream Valley, about 8 miles from town, there is very little light pollution.  Up Murphy Dome Road another few miles, there is virtually none.

 

I agree with you.  And I don't think that the amount of light pollution is the only important factor.  I wonder if "masterdrago" understands that there are different aurora intensities.  There are several aurora forecast websites, and at least one has a number index to reflect the different intensities.  Also, the location in terms of how far north the viewing position is located is another factor.  Given this light pollution "analysis" there is a photo taken by an acquaintance from the Julian Square apartment complex of a sky filled with bands of color, including strong reds; sources of light pollution would have included the light poles in Julian Square, the Sophie Station hotel, Safeway,  Fred Meyer and even the Fairbanks International Airport.  I mean -- how much more sources of light pollution can you have in Fairbanks?  

 

 

[Northern Aurora]

On 2/5/2019 at 7:47 PM, PRPLE said:

Please all... I limited on MY options as I’ll be on a land tour with HAL... NOT renting a car!    Im asking for your operator advice!  And advice on the excursion via HAL if you know about that!

 

while the discussion on the aurora and potential darkness options is interesting can we get back to my ORIGINAL post?

 

THANKS

 

 

PRPLE:  I don't have any personal experience with the tour operators listed on the Fairbanks Convention and Visitor's Bureau website, as I just look out the windows at night!  You may find some recommendations on TripAdvisor.  But to have some sense of what we are seeing this winter just check the Fairbanks News-Miner website (www.newsminer.com).  Our local newspaper encourages readers to submit photos and there are frequently aurora photos posted on their website.

 

Since you are on a land tour with HAL this won't help you, but for those who find this thread when doing a CC search, with two days in Fairbanks I would have recommended a stay at the Chena Hot Springs Resort.  One of their winter attractions is aurora viewing.  The resort is located at the end of Chena Hot Springs Road; the first 20 - 22 miles it winds through subdivisions, but then runs through the massive Chena River recreation area with campgrounds, hiking trails and prime moose habitat.  Even if there when there is no aurora the thermal hot springs, the lodge ambience and its grounds, and the drive (with potential moose viewing) is very enjoyable.

[masterdrago]

Like Northern Aurora says, look at the number of aurora tour company reviews on trip adviser. Another page to see what is going on real time are the gallery of pix at http://spaceweathergallery.com/aurora_gallery.html

[masterdrago]

For PRPLE. I keep trying to bump this thread to the top of the Alaska category. I just suspect that those that could give recommendations on Fairbanks Aurora excursions from personal experience are not monitoring the boards this time of year. It is rather quiet. Like others say, just peruse the reviews on Trip Adviser. There are many to study.

 
For Northern Aurora. My Aurora experience is far from vast. I have a much better understanding of things atmospheric and celestial than any average American. Since 1983, I've been a serious amateur astronomer and living in Texas have only seen two aurora by shear luck. On March 13, 1989 I was sent up to Trinity, Texas to observe a grazing occultation. While setting up for that event, I noticed the northern sky was on fire. At least, that was what I thought. Thoughts ran to nuclear war. As I watched, thick white contrails ran through the sky as far as Orion. Then vibrant green curtains formed with thick black pleats covering most of the northern sky up to the zenith. All I had was a voice recorder which was full after 45 minutes of verbal descriptions. As it turns out, the abrupt change in the ten meter band during the day should have been my warning - particles from an X8 proton storm flare on March 10th had finally made contact with the atmosphere. A week b4, an X15 storm had erupted but those particles had missed Earth. I contacted friends when I got home but cloud cover had completely engulfed Houston and even my home 55 miles north. The 2nd lucky observation was from the visitors center at McDonald Observatory Oct. 29, 2003. By strange coincidence, a small group of amateurs were having a week long star party near Ft. Davis, Texas. The display erupted rather suddenly and only lasted ~1/2hr and a few photos were taken then on Velvia slide film. The intensity was not the grandness of the 1989 view but there were white bands among the huge red glow to the north with a broad, wide band of lime green running as an arc along the horizon.

[masterdrago]

Some more advice for PRPLE. When you have a chat with the aurora tour companies, try to find out where they will be taking you to observe. Try to bend their ear a bit. Use the resources I and others have pointed to. Use google Earth, MapQuest and the light pollution map link. While I was looking over that, I would guess that the best location would be north of Silver Gulch up highway 6 or 2. See if the tour company can be specific. Even up near Chatanika, the light pollution glow from Fairbanks is slightly worse than at our astronomy club dark site 120km west of Houston. The newest maps even show light pollution from new oil field operations. Take the time to do all the homework you can - you have seven months. Again good luck. I am so envious of your trip and opportunity to see the best aurora. This is the tour we are looking at... http://www.spearstravel.com/astronomy-travel/astronomy-upcoming-trips/2019-iceland.htm

[PRPLE]

After much thought and research we are going to utilize one of the tours that chases.... so our ultimate location will be determined that night and we may be at multiple locations depending on activity.

 

after reading everything I could...  taking into account past reviews... discussion here...  we are going to go with Ron and Marketa Murray at “The Aurora Chasers” See https://www.ronnmurrayphoto.com/NorthernLightsTours/PhotoWorkshops/AuroraChasersTour.  

 

Our time is so limited that utilizing a option to find it rather rather than it finding me at the beginning of Sept makes this I think the best option for us

[masterdrago]

Thanks for sharing your pick. I had not seen those folks in my searches. Looking at those reviews and their web pages, I would say you could not have made a better choice. With their long experience and well thought out methods, you'll have a great time. I know you'll be tired but will be running on adrenaline for days after getting to view such sights. Take care and I'll be watching for your trip report late in the year. Out trip is in May but being a novice video nerd, I'm sure it will take several months to edit something together to post a report.

[masterdrago]

PRPLE, I've been wondering how the trip went. Any notes on your aurora viewing would be appreciated. We plan on making another trip to Alaska in 2021. Most likely late august through mid September and mostly land tour but still in pre-planning mode. I've got a bunch of friends that are also making plans to view aurora. Some this December. Brrrrr!

[masterdrago]

Recent aurora photo from Fairbanks.

https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=156125