Alaska Master Thread

[Something Fishy]

So when is the right time to go to see Northern lights?
Or is it just too infrequent to plan on?

December-February is supposedly your best bet. But it's always a crapshoot, no matter when or where in the world.

The Alaska Geophysical Institute is the top predictor around, they're usually quite accurate.

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

[Cbs]

So when is the right time to go to see Northern lights?
Or is it just too infrequent to plan on?

U cant plan on it really.
The week before i came it came all the way down to the edge of Anchorage which is quite rare and it was a moderate 3 rating. and they were able to see it from the city .
We had 2 and 1 rating all week so it wasnt good, and we had a full bright moon. so it was pretty light even though we drove deep into night .

there are some blogs that ppl have seen the lights say when best time to go , when its really cold like Jan , feb time . but there will be NOTHING else to do as u see that we didnt do much . Unless you are a photographer id say scratch it and go in the summer , but if you're a photographer then ud prob love it.

Also the best spots are near Fairbanks , a little more north of it .

Nice TR! Sounds like you made the best of a fairly lousy situation. Any pics to share?

I think this sums it up best:

 

lol, yes true. and i have pics

[Something Fishy]

there are some blogs that ppl have seen the lights say when best time to go , when its really cold like Jan , feb time .

An important distinction - the aurora has nothing to do with temperature. It's always present, even during the summer. The reason the coldest months are best is because they're the darkest. During the summer it simply never gets dark enough to see it.

lol, yes true. and i have pics

So let's see 'em!

[Cbs]

btw i bought the nex 6 for alaska and my friend brought a Canon Rebel T3i or T5i and IMO his took nicer shots, better zoom, quicker shutter, night shots better, overall seemed better quality.
dont get me wrong, it tkes nice pics, but not better or the same

[Something Fishy]

btw i bought the nex 6 for alaska and my friend brought a Canon Rebel T3i or T5i and IMO his took nicer shots, better zoom, quicker shutter, night shots better, overall seemed better quality.
dont get me wrong, it tkes nice pics, but not better or the same

The only thing the Canon is better is quicker shutter (by which I assume you mean less shutter lag - quicker to take the picture when the button was pressed). That would be due to the focusing advantage all DSLRs have over mirrorless. Night shots should be the same, since they have the exact same type of sensor. The reason his may have come out better could be due to many things, such a faster lens (larger aperture), more stable camera (due to using the viewfinder pressed against his face), and a myriad of other factors. Basically, what I'm saying is that it is probably due to technique or something like that, not simply the camera.

"Better zoom" has nothing to do with the camera...

[Something Fishy]

It'd actually be interesting to dissect this... If you have a chance please post two similar pictures from both cameras with the EXIF data and we'll see if we could see exactly what happened.

[Cbs]

Here are a few shots from the Canon.

The one and only bear we saw


On way to Matanuka Glacier




Me, Waiting for the northern lights in minus -15 degrees, moon light ahead and phone light in my hand


Denali from afar


Ice Museum in Fairbanks

[deenz]

Cbs, how close did you get to that bear?
My bears are all tiny!
Had to register just to tell you that's one Spectacular shot.

[Dan]

Here are a few shots from the Canon.

Post pics Sony vs. Canon.

[lubaby]

btw i bought the nex 6 for alaska and my friend brought a Canon Rebel T3i or T5i and IMO his took nicer shots, better zoom, quicker shutter, night shots better, overall seemed better quality.
dont get me wrong, it tkes nice pics, but not better or the same

I'm the friend with camera. It's a T3i, i got it before going to Israel last year.
Ill send you the pics later today (or Tomorrow if I can't get the internet at home working before then).

[lubaby]

So when is the right time to go to see Northern lights?
Or is it just too infrequent to plan on?

There is a site hosted by a guy in Talkeetna which has a twitter account so you can get notifications when there are good chances for seeing Northern Lights; but that's for knowing the day of.
http://softservenews.com/Aurora.htm
https://twitter.com/Aurora_Alerts

[Dan]

We should make a DDF DO to fly to Jasper when there's a strong Aurora forecast that night...

[Cbs]

I'm the friend with camera. It's a T3i, i got it before going to Israel last year.
Ill send you the pics later today (or Tomorrow if I can't get the internet at home working before then).

so now i know ur here!

Cbs, how close did you get to that bear?
My bears are all tiny!
Had to register just to tell you that's one Spectacular shot.

it was behind a barbed fence, and it was really close to us and we just put the lens in between the fence. not much of a zoom there

[deenz]

it was behind a barbed fence, and it was really close to us and we just put the lens in between the fence. not much of a zoom there

ah, a zoo
dunno why I assumed it was in the wild

[Something Fishy]

There is a site hosted by a guy in Talkeetna which has a twitter account so you can get notifications when there are good chances for seeing Northern Lights; but that's for knowing the day of.
http://softservenews.com/Aurora.htm
https://twitter.com/Aurora_Alerts

I actually used this guy when I went. The problem is that his forecasts are based solely on the KP numbers, but don't take into account the BZ component or, more importantly, the weather.

Using his reports along with NOAA's space weather prediction and Clear Sky charts you might be able to piece together a very short-term forecast (12-24 hours).

But like I said, you could have the best forecast and still see nothing, and vice versa.

[Something Fishy]

We should make a DDF DO to fly to Jasper when there's a strong Aurora forecast that night...

Why davka Jasper? It's not particularly known for aurora displays.

[Dan]

Why davka Jasper? It's not particularly known for aurora displays.

Looked pretty awesome to me:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/24/northern-lights-jasper-video_n_3331754.html

And it's just a beautiful place and a nonstop flight from NYC, ORD, etc.

[Something Fishy]

Looked pretty awesome to me:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/24/northern-lights-jasper-video_n_3331754.html

And it's just a beautiful place and a nonstop flight from NYC, ORD, etc.

Agree that it's awesome, but the article itself states that it was due to an exceptionally large solar flare - a fairly rare event. If there's a solar event I'd rather run somewhere where sightings in general are more probable. It's all about maximizing your chances.

But you have a strong point - it's fairly easy to get to, and it's a beautiful place in any case. It won't be a complete waste, even if there ends up being no aurora.

[Something Fishy]

http://petapixel.com/2013/12/11/aurora-borealis-time-lapse-photographed-airplane-window/

[Achas Veachas]

http://petapixel.com/2013/12/11/aurora-borealis-time-lapse-photographed-airplane-window/

Cool! I wouldn't think that was possible, I could never see anything out those windows without reflections getting in the way...