AuroraHunter's photostream

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The sun was overflowing with twisted magnetized gases and suddenly, out of a sunspot, a CME (coronal mass ejection) erupted billions of tons of pure energy into space. Some of this solar flare was geoeffective (earth directed) and on March 10, 2011 a gust of solar wind slammed into us.

Far below in Alaska I witnessed the dynamic interplay of forces from a windy Pt. Woronzof bluff near the Anchorage International Airport. I had broken a dinner date with my wife because online the scientific websites that monitor real-time magnetic disturbances and solar wind speed were bouncing like crazy. The Kp index, a 1-to-10 number summarizing geomagnetic activity, was in the red!

I clocked on at 8 pm and was scanning the sunset when a faint aurora flicker caught my eye over Pt. McKenzie to the northwest. It was not even dark yet! I quickly got my tripods set up and by 8:30 pm the auroras were dancing over Mt. Susitna, the Sleeping Lady. I had been envisioning this shot for two decades.

A half moon illuminated the snow on the Lady while the twilight of a distant sunset burnt in a deep orange glow. The northern lights were a lively shade of green that stretched into tall, barely detectable, rays of magenta. Ice pans made a grinding sound as they slowly rode the incoming tide into the Cook Inlet. From water-to-sky everything was in constant movement including the numerous flights arriving and departing the airport. Talk about a state of “Flow.”

When I thought it could not get any better it did; my wife showed up out at the Point with a warm take-out dinner…. the night had become a dream date!

This photo is available for purchase at www.AuroraHunter.com

I felt fortunate to have drawn a professional photographer’s (”ProPho”) permit for Denali National Park during the solstice week in June, and with this coveted permit I was able to drive my own vehicle park-wide. With scenic alerts around every bend, I found myself averaging 2-1/2 miles per hour. Slow down, this is Denali.

On the way in I photographed bears, Dall sheep, golden eagles, peregrine falcons and my first snowy owl. A midnight sunset on Stony Dome seamlessly turned into sunrise and at 3 am a calm visit from a lone wolf kept my senses inspired! It never got completely dark as the all-nighter morphed into a glorious morning so I kept on truckin’. I arrived at Wonder Lake 86 miles later at around 8 am.

Mt. McKinley‘s North Peak (19,470 feet) was creating its own cloud system and reflecting off a surprisingly calm Wonder Lake so I planted myself on a hill and soaked in the scene. The refreshingly clear morning light was beaming in from the east and creating contrasting shadows and snowy highlights along the Mountain’s many facets. Color was almost distracting as I became captivated by the shape and form–black & white–depicted in the taiga forest, wispy skies and sharp-edged peaks of “Denali North.”

Auroras dancing over the moonlit Knik River Valley.
October 9, 2011, 4 am, 40 miles NE of Anchorage, AK.

Full Moon rising above Mt. Drum, Wrangell/St. Elias National Park.
October 11, 2011, 6:40 pm, Glennallen, AK.

Big Dipper and auroras fanning above the Copper River.
Wrangell/St. Elias National Park & Preserve.
October 11, 2011, midnight, Copper River Center, AK.