Aurora in Alaska - Spring 2012

I should be finishing up a paper, but I wanted to take a few moments to share a beautiful site, the Aurora Borealis in Alaska.  My friend and I drove up to Birchwood a few miles north of Anchorage and stayed until around 1:30 in the morning snapping picture after picture of the beautiful aurora.  Although when we arrived at our shooting location the aurora was not much more than a faint green light, by about 11:45 it became a vibrant, dazzling, dancing display of lights and colors.  Much brighter and more active than anything I have seen during the last 8 years that I have lived in this state.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that night:

It's been cloudy ever since this night, but I really hope that the clouds disperse and leave at least one more clear night that I may hopefully be able to practice taking more pictures of the aurora.  Although I'm not sure if I will see it as vibrant and beautiful as it was last Thursday anytime soon in the future.