This set of
aurora photos was taken
at the Arctic Circle, which is an imaginary circular line encompassing
the
North Pole. In this area sunrise and sunset do not follow the regular
schedule
of winter solstice and summer solstice, meaning that in summer you can
see the
sun at night and in winter the sun disappears in the morning. When our
team arrived at
the Arctic Circle in November, the total daylight lasted less than four
hours only. Nonetheless,
darkness is good for viewing aurora. There is only one way to the
Arctic Circle
from Fairbanks, Alaska: the Dalton Highway. This highway was built
between 1974
and 77 for commercial purposes only. In 1981 a portion of the highway
was open
for public access and in 1994 the entire highway was open. However,
there are
no medical facilities, banks, grocery stores, or cell phone services
along the
highway. You must be very well-prepared to travel to the Arctic Circle.
In
November the temperature could be as low as -30 degree (F). If you get
stuck in
the area, you know the consequence. In my opinions it is worth the risk
because
when you get closer to the North Pole, the chance of seeing an aurora
is much
higher. There are different forms of aurora. The one shown in these
photos is
called the folded ribbon.
