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Jan 17, 2011 CONTACT: Stevie Seibert, GI Public Relations, 907-474-5229, stevie [dot] seibert [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu

Fairbanks, Alaska—Aurora displays in the night sky are one of the pleasures Alaskans look forward to during our long winters. The intensity of the aurora is dependent on particles being emitted from the sun. Solar activity is tracked in cycles and when the sun goes into a minimum, the aurora is visible less frequently. Typically, a solar minimum lasts about one year. However, the current minimum has been going on for more than three years.

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Each year more than 20 kids head to Alaska through the Make a Wish Foundation, usually to take part in summer activities. But this year, things are operating a bit differently. Chelsea Hodges, a teenager from Virginia, is traveling across the continent to see the aurora in Alaska’s Interior during the heart of winter.

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An educational, interactive CDROM describing the colorful and dynamic phenomenon of the aurora was released for sale today by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, the international leader in aurora research for more than 50 years.

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At times, auroral activity occurring in the northern hemisphere is mirrored in the southern hemisphere. The swirls and ripples of auroral rays will occur in unison in each hemisphere. This phenomenon is known as the conjugacy of the aurora. For years, scientists at the Geophyscial Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have studied this effect of the aurora. Although studies are shedding more light on the issue, there isn't a clear-cut formula for when, this mirroring occurs.

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FAIRBANKS, Alaska—The aurora isn’t visible during the summer months in Fairbanks—that is, until now! Scientists from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are providing daily aurora shows and information to the public at Pioneer Park until Sept. 1, 2008.

First lecture to focus on rockets, aurora

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FAIRBANKS, Alaska—It's hard to conduct experiments on something you can't reach. When it comes to research on the aurora, scientists have worked their way around this problem by taking the experiment to the aurora, using rockets that fly more than 100 miles above Earth.

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This morning, a NASA suborbital sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range into an aurora display over northern Alaska at 3:45 a.m. Alaska Standard Time, allowing researchers to gather more data about the power source behind pulsating auroras.

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Four rockets are scheduled to launch from Poker Flat when aurora conditions are suitable at night or in early morning hours this February.

Three of the rockets will release brilliant blue-green chemical trails to trace wind in the upper atmosphere. The trails are expected to be visible from Fairbanks, North Pole, locations north of the Brooks Range and as far east as the Canadian border.

Seven rockets carrying experiments used to study the aurora are scheduled for launch from Poker Flat Research Range this winter. The projects include a group of four rockets launched in rapid succession to measure wind in the upper atmosphere and one rocket that will turn on its side mid-flight, allowing it to pierce a curtain of aurora horizontally.