Northern Lights Deliver a Breathtaking Show During a Dark Alaskan Winter

We are blessed this year in Alaska with another spectacular showing of the Northern Lights.  Kirsty Knittel, an immensely talented photographer and Kantisha Roadhouse bus driver, captured these images. (See more of Kirsty’s images of Alaska at her website.)

Also known in the northern hemisphere as the Aurora Borealis, this amazing light show occurs in the far upper and lower latitudes. (In the south, they are called Aurora Australis.) The colorful sky paintings are caused by collisions of energetic charged particles with atoms. The beautiful green tones seen in these photos are the most common colors, but Northern Lights can also play out in reds, pinks, yellows and blues.

For those of us who live year-round in Alaska, the Northern Lights are a wonderful treat during the winter months. We tip our hats to those hardy travelers who venture up this way during the winter season to witness this awe-inspiring natural phenomenon.