Prepare for nature’s 2012 spectacular! NASA predicts this winter’s northern lights will be the brightest in 50 years. In the continental US, there’s no better place to view them than northern Minnesota and no better time than December or January, which offer our longest and most cloud-free nights. And there’s no certainly on better way to do that than on a dogsledding vacation at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge. Join us this winter and enjoy the show. But be sure to book now to take advantage of our summer sign-up discount rates.

Celestial Poetry in the Winter Sky

Here’s what you’ll witness this winter: When solar winds collide with the earth’s atmosphere, sparks of light are born that splash across in sky in dancing shapes (arcs, rays, bands, curtains, spirals) and iridescent colors (green, blue, red, orange & scarlet). The ghostly pastel particle streams billow with silent grace — no manmade creation can compete.

NASA scientist say this winter will offer the greatest sky show since 1958, when the aurora stunned Mexico by making an appearance on three occasions. The event will be caused by the Solar Maximum – a period when the sun’s magnetic field on the solar equator rotates at a slightly faster pace than at the solar poles. This phenomenon is closely linked to the 11-year solar sunspot cycle.

Aurora Reflecting Off the Lake

Aurora result from charged particles that blast out from the sun at a million miles per hour. Upon reaching the earth a couple days later, they get sucked into the planet’s magnetic field and race along down towards the magnetic poles. Along the way, at altitudes of 40 to 600 miles (higher the Space Shuttle flies), the particles “excite” the gases in the Earth’s atmosphere causing them to give off light, often in lovely colors.

Neon lights, in which electromagnetic waves pulse through tubes of gases, tap the same principle. You’ll find similar phenomena in your dryer when your clothes get static cling. The static occurs when the electrons in the clothes shift from their centers and are picked up by atoms on other clothing, causing your garments to cling magnetically. When you pull the clothes apart, the shifted electrons “snap” back to their original positions. In the atmosphere, after the electrons become excited they snap back to there normal positions and emit a light. Oxygen atoms emit green and red glows, nitrogen emits blue & violet.

Scarlet Lights are Rarest

Aurora exist near both the north and south poles at every moment of the day and night, but are best observed around midnight when the sky is at its darkest. The southern lights are known as the aurora australis and are exact mirror images of the northern lights. In Minnesota, when the sky is dark & clear (as it often is mid winter), the lights are typically visible for at least an hour on one or two nights per week. This winter’s auroral peak will substantially enhance those viewing opportunities.

Their intensity has been building since 2007. While we enjoyed some lovely emerald green displays in Ely last year, predictions call for some pulsing scarlet and orange lights during this peak winter.

Scientist estimate the aurora generate about 9 billion kilowatt hours of power a year –about ten times the U.S.’s annual electrical needs. Maybe someday we’ll figure out how to tap into this power supply. In the meantime, there’s some concern that this winter’s peak could disrupt mobile phones, GPS and even the national grid.

But they still remain the stuff of myth and mystery. Traditional Eskimos believed the lights were deceased relatives trying to contact them. Native Americans felt they could conjure the spirits by whistling to the lights.

And do they whistle back? Maybe. In Siberia, they’re referred to as the “whisper of the stars” and, while most scientists are skeptical, one study claims to have detected audible sound associated with aurora.

Honeymooning in Finland's Glass Igloos

Finns refer to the lights as foxes with sparkling fur, hence the phrase “fox fire.” Asian Chuvash natives thought the sky gave birth to child when the lights rolled. Perhaps that’s why Japanese folklore stills holds that a child conceived while the Aurora are playing overhead will be born under an extremely fortunate sign. The Finns have profitably tapped into this Asian fetish by marketing glass igloos in Lapland as honeymoon suites.

And maybe there’s something to this folklore. At least it seems to have worked here in Ely, Minnesota. When we first built Wintergreen, our bedroom was a sleeping loft in the lodge with a huge skylight. Those years, the late 80′s, were another auroral peak. The lights danced above us each night and … our kids (Bria 25, Peter 20, Berit 17) have turned out great. But we didn’t get much sleep: the aurora were so bright one winter that we covered over the skylight.

But that loft is still there in Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge. If you join us this winter for a dogsledding vacation, perhaps we can be persuaded to uncover that skylight again so you can have a ringside seat for nature’s most mesmerizing show!