One of the most fascinating natural phenomena observed in the north is the aurora borealis, or northern lights. People have observed the greenish-white lights that flicker across the night sky in winter for centuries. Their mysterious presence fires the imagination, calling forth stories of beauty and of fear.

Historically, the aurora has garnered many names that hint at human perception: flying dragons, merry dancers, Buddha’s lights, bloody weapons, ball player, heavenly fight, dance of the dead. These names and others can be found amongst the tales of peoples around the world, past and present. Galileo applied the name aurora to the phenomenon in 1619, after Aurora, the Roman goddess of morning. This name stuck.

Eskimo legends about the aurora abound and differ from place to place. However, several stories seem to be common amongst the villages. First, there is the belief that the aurora is the highest level of heaven, reserved for people who die a violent death – a man in the hunt, a woman in childbirth, a person who is murdered. It is a place of brightness with no snow and no storms, a place of easy hunting. A second common tale is that the aurora is a game of Eskimo football, with a walrus skull for a ball. A third widely held belief is that one should not whistle at the aurora; to do so invites it to come down and chop off your head.

In recent decades, scientific interest the aurora has generated a great deal of information regarding its causes. In brief, the aurora is the visible reaction between gases in the earth’s atmosphere and electrons and protons entering the earth’s atmosphere. These electrons and protons originate on the sun and are guided to the polar regions by the earth’s magnetic field (the aurora is visible in the southern hemisphere, too, and is known as the aurora australias). The type of gas the electrons and protons strike determines the colors displayed in the aurora. At different level in the atmosphere, there are different proportions of gases. Oxygen is the most abundant gas and generates the greenish-white color most commonly seen.

The opportunity to observe this fascinating phenomenon is one of the treasures of living in the North. It is also a draw for many winter visitors to Alaska. Once the winter darkness descends, the aurora can be seen from almost anywhere in the state during periods of peak activity. Generally speaking, however, the best times for observing the aurora are from December through March, usually between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. And the further north one goes in the state, the more opportunities there are for observation. The Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks provides daily forecasts on auroral activity, which include level of activity, peak times for viewing on a particular date, and geographical locations where the aurora may be seen.

Long and cold as the winter may seem to Alaskans, the presence of the aurora is always something to look forward to. Knowing both scientific and mythological explanations only increases the sense of wonder as one watches the lights shift across the vast northern sky.