It's Aurora Time Again

Mid-August is the time to again start keeping an eye peeled for Northern Lights. The sky is now beginning to darken enough at night in the northern parts of Alaska and Canada that the aurora can be seen.

If it is dark enough, and if the sky is without cloud cover, the aurora can be seen every night in central and northern Alaska. At any particular moment the aurora might or might not be seen, but if one looks all night long aurora will show up.

Auroras tend to be brightest and most widespread near the peak of the 11- year solar cycle. In late 1981 we should be past the peak of the current cycle but not far past. Even during the minimum years of the cycle, there is plenty of aurora to be seen if one looks for it.