Living Alaska — Have You Seen the Northern Lights?

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.<figure id="3d9b"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*NYRHGEZ7W7SN0OsZxAKbLw.jpeg"><figcaption>Photograph by Author — I take terrible pictures but tried in 40 mph winds and high seas. The White line is the masthead on the M.V. Tustumena</figcaption></figure>Colors dazzle human psychology. Why? I do not know, but we all have a favorite color, and new colors attract the eye. Beautiful colors dancing in the night sky is something rare. Watching a beautiful array of colors dancing eccentrically is a memorable experience.You want to wake your friends, co-workers, and neighbors with a shout, “Hey, look at this.” It makes you feel special like you ate your first ice cream cone. You feel energized, loved, and bedazzled all at the same time.You do not see the Northern Lights every day. You must be in the right place at the right time, and nobody can predict with any certainty that you will see them. Add clouds, fog, and natural obstructions, and your odds of seeing them diminish considerably.I have lived in Alaska for two years, traveling at sea through the dead of night. I

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have minimized natural and manmade obstructions, but fog and clouds have obscured my view many nights when other folks nearby have witnessed a dazzling display.<figure id="1df8"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*W4_JXEkmYsxoHemUVULmWw.jpeg"><figcaption>Photograph by Author — It was windy and bumpy. Sorry for the unsteady hand.</figcaption></figure>It is still rare to see vivid colors of highly charged electrons. The Aurora Borealis is something special, something rare enough to feel gifted and special. Last night, I steered due north for an hour and a half, waiting patiently to take my pictures.I was not let down this time around. The event lasted for hours, but my special colors danced differently when I tried valiantly to take photos. Not to belittle the iPhone camera, but my photography skills are completely lacking. I need an app for special event photos, like moonscapes, sunrises, and my Northern Lights extravaganza. Is there an App request board I can post to?From the Gulf of Alaska, somewhere southeast of Kodiak Island, with love and the Aurora Borealis.</article></body>

Zero Degrees North at the 59th Parallel

Photograph by Author — The Northern Lights with co-star Big Dipper, Silhouette of the Bow M.V. Tustumena

Last night, we were heading zero degrees north, based on a gyro, at the 59th parallel. Traveling zero degrees north, we headed directly into the Northern Lights.

Watching a dazzling display produced by Mother Nature in the ocean was awe-inspiring. It made me appreciate the subtleties of nature, chemistry, and physics. I could discuss the relationship between Alfven waves and electron acceleration creating visible light, but describing the effect on the human psyche is much more exciting.

Seeing a rainbow right after a rain shower is dazzling to the eye. It is fun to think of pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. You theorize on the abstract by chasing a rainbow to its endpoints. You wonder who is the lucky one at the end of a rainbow.

Photograph by Author — I take terrible pictures but tried in 40 mph winds and high seas. The White line is the masthead on the M.V. Tustumena

Colors dazzle human psychology. Why? I do not know, but we all have a favorite color, and new colors attract the eye. Beautiful colors dancing in the night sky is something rare. Watching a beautiful array of colors dancing eccentrically is a memorable experience.

You want to wake your friends, co-workers, and neighbors with a shout, “Hey, look at this.” It makes you feel special like you ate your first ice cream cone. You feel energized, loved, and bedazzled all at the same time.

You do not see the Northern Lights every day. You must be in the right place at the right time, and nobody can predict with any certainty that you will see them. Add clouds, fog, and natural obstructions, and your odds of seeing them diminish considerably.

I have lived in Alaska for two years, traveling at sea through the dead of night. I have minimized natural and manmade obstructions, but fog and clouds have obscured my view many nights when other folks nearby have witnessed a dazzling display.

Photograph by Author — It was windy and bumpy. Sorry for the unsteady hand.

It is still rare to see vivid colors of highly charged electrons. The Aurora Borealis is something special, something rare enough to feel gifted and special. Last night, I steered due north for an hour and a half, waiting patiently to take my pictures.

I was not let down this time around. The event lasted for hours, but my special colors danced differently when I tried valiantly to take photos. Not to belittle the iPhone camera, but my photography skills are completely lacking. I need an app for special event photos, like moonscapes, sunrises, and my Northern Lights extravaganza. Is there an App request board I can post to?

From the Gulf of Alaska, somewhere southeast of Kodiak Island, with love and the Aurora Borealis.