Alaska Highway

Taken in the Middle of the night on the Alaska Highway. Exposed for 30

seconds while a semi drove by.

Very good interesting angle as well....is that the solar storm inthe sky? not sure is that the right term...

Matthew,

 

Those are the northern lights aka. aurora borealis. Best viewed usually from Alaska or Canada as far as I know.

All I can say is Wow!

Nice. LIke the aurora. Sky looks a little digitized, you should lower your compression or get a nicer camera!

I would loose the light trails, in order to focus the viewer's attention upon the fabulous Aurora! - Surely you captured this without the light polution? I love your shot, but would prefer an isolated image of the lights!

 

LOL

 

You can also see them in Greenland, Iceland, The faroe Islands, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia on clear nights in winter (this is not just a North American phenomena!) - you can also see the Aurora Australis (Southern lights), near to the antartic circle! They are the result of charged particles produced by solar storms bombarding the earths atmosphere at an acute angle (caused by the earth's tilt in winter time). The colour of the Aurora depends upon which elemental particles are ionised in the process. - Did you hear them too?

 

Regards, Nick.

Nicholas,

 

Lol no the noise thing is a myth. Yes, they are viewable in all of those places, but certain spots in Alaska are considered the prime viewing spots for reasons too long to list right now. Fairbanks in particular being the location of the most intense research on the subject. The picture has not been altered at all and the light trails were a result of a semi driving by when I shot it. I have other shots without it, but I enjoyed this one in particular. Thanks for glancing.

LOL

 

The location on Earth is essentially irrelevant to the phenomena! - it takes place at the top of the atmosphere - All you need is a clear sky, an acute angle of insidence with the atmosphere from the sun, and the right solar conditions about 8 to 15 days earlier! Cloud often accumulates over land - some would say that a boat anyplace near the poles in winter is the prime location!

 

I have to disagree about the noise too, but only from personal experience - I heard them on 1st December 2005 in Iceland!

 

Have you posted any other shots of the Lights?

 

Regards, Nick.

Incorrect. Geographic location causes certain weather patterns and other phenomenon to occur which in turn makes certain areas prime viewing locations. The iceland picture is nice, but not much more than an average winter night in Fairbanks. I can upload some more shots or point to some other shots photographers have taken in that area that you would be hard pressed to find in most other locations.

I forgot that everything in America is much bigger and much better than anywhere else in the world! We therefore must agree to disagree, and get on with taking wonderful photographs!

 

Fond regards, Nick.

Awesome photo! There are so many captivating elements in this photo. The Big Dipper, moonlight on the clouds, and of course the magnificent northern lights. I really like how the big dipper is composed in the picture. The effort you took in planning this shot and risking the life of your camera to an Alaskan Semi driver, certainly paid off. I did some work at the Tesoro Refinery in Kenai and drove the road from Anchorage to Kenai a lot. This picture sums up the experience of driving at night in Alaska. Beautiful State.

 

While travelling along the Cook Inlet, I was priveledged to see lots of rainbows of which this one is my favorite, and you may enjoy it. Click here for Alaskan Rainbow Photo

My favorite of the year so far out!