You Don't Have To Go To Iceland To See The Aurora Borealis

Many people choose their vacation destination on where the best spots to view the Northern Lights are? Did you know... that if conditions are just right, you can see the aurora borealis here in Minnesota? Although the northern lights are normally only visible at very high latitudes in places like Alaska, Canada, and Iceland, on extremely active days the auroral oval expands to more southern latitudes. The Space Plasma Physics Research Group at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis created this web site to share the beauty of the northern lights with you. This site features photographs of the aurora borealis taken in Minnesota by Professor John Winckler, as well as links to other aurora images on the WWW. We have also included information on space weather forecasts, and lists of resources essential for every aurora watcher. Visit our Aurora Gallery to see examples of what the aurora borealis looks like when it is visible in Minnesota. The Aurora Gallery features photographs of the auroral borealis taken by University of Minnesota Professor Emeritus John Winckler. Dr. Winckler received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1946 and is an expert in the field of space physics - the study of Earth's magnetosphere, the solar wind, and the aurora. The photographs were taken by Dr. Winckler at the O'Brien Observatory located in Marine-on-the-St. Croix, Minnesota. The O'Brien Observatory is maintained by the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities Department of Astronomy. Read the entire article here: http://ham.space.umn.edu/aurora.html