the northern lights??

i havent seen it mentioned lately about the aroraboras. i will be in the inner passage the week of the 10 to the 17th of sept. and am hoping on a clear night i might be able to see them. i have no idea how far south they go or if they have a more active time of season or not. if you have seen them and know a little about them please post. it would just be one more sites to see that would really 'put the icing on the cake' for the trip. thanks alot.
dusty

[Chuck Palm]

I haven't seen northern lights but I did experience the "White Nights" phenomenon in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was an amazing experience in late june. I don't know if the "White Nights" and "Northern Lights" are related scientifically or not. Any science buffs out there?

[Karen16]

From a ship you are not likely to see them, you are too far south. I was just in Fairbanks for 2 weeks the end of March and even from Talkeetna the views were greatly inferior. But you can take a look outside a few nights 2-3 am and see whats out- star gazing itself isn't bad either.

thanks for the info. i was hoping to be able to see them. maybe one night when i am on the deck late at night watching the stars i might catch a glimpe of them. i can only hope. dusty

[tr cruiser]

Appearance of the Aurora Borealis depends on solar activity and your distance from the Earth's magnetic pole. In northern Greenland, the Northern Lights are visible almost every night. After a strong solar flare, an aurora may be observed all the way down to the tropics. On an average night in Skagway, for example, there's between a 10-20% chance of observing some activity - much better than in the continental US.

The best time of day to see aurora is around local midnight. Twilght can totally hide the phenomenon, however, so summer is generally not the best time for viewing in far northern latitudes. It is said there is a slight peak in activity around the equinoxes. I'm hoping for a chance to see aurora on my upcoming September cruise.

The University of Alaska posted a good web page about aurora, including maps and explanations.

[Donna]

Hi Dusty,
I know they were around the first week in Sept. last year, I was always asleep and missed them, so you have a good chance of spotting them, good luck.

I get some updates from this site, you may want to write them and have them add you to their mailing list, may give you some good info:

http://www.gse-aa@gi.alaska.edu



Post Edited (04-26-03 06:52)

donna and ty cruiser,

thanks for the info and great sites. i will keep them with my favorites so i can keep tabs on them just before i go. seeing them would really be awesome to see. dusty

We saw them on the 3rd night of our cruise out of Vancouver. We sent a note to the Bridge via the pursers desk asking to be called in case the lights were visable. Sure enough, at around 1 A.M., we got a call and went up on deck to view the lights.

[CruisinDenise]

What a neat idea! I bet bridges everywhere will be swarmed with requests now. I know I'm going to try it.

Denise

We went last Sept. & didn't see them. When I lived in Montana, we saw them but it was in the winter time, usually Jan-Feb.