mikesouth

Not true The northern (and southern) lights happen when solar winds interact with the earths magnetic fields, ionizing the atoms in the thermosphere.

so there are a few rules of thumb....first you need solar activity in the form of solar flares...like the big ones we had last week, second they will have to hit the area (these are actually fairly predictable) but usually not with a lot of notice, think a few days at most.

the stronger the solar activity and the more direct the hit the more spectacular the light show. The Northern lights have been seen as far south as Washington DC in periods of unusually high solar activity.

2012 and the first part of 2013 are peak solar activity years so this is a good year to think about it, as for alaska I'd go above the arctic circle in late fall or winter time frame (remember this area in the summer can have 24 hrs of daylight.)

Think Point Barrow in Nov/Dec if the solar winds cooperate.

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Mike South

It's No wonder I took up drugs and alcohol, it's the only way I could dumb myself down enough to cope with the morons in this biz.