Another weak aurora winter ahead

I keep an eye on the UAF Geophysical Institute aurora forecast site, but as you can see by today’s long-term forecast calendar, we’ve got another dull winter coming in terms of aurora borealis viewing. Not that we’re getting many clear nights anyway, but it’d be nice to be able to look forward to colourful nights occasionally.

That’s not to say that there will be no aurora viewing this winter, just not much. Last winter was poor too, but the image below is one I shot at Carcross on December 15, 2006. The next peak winter is going to be 2011-2012 (the aurora is on a roughly 11-year cycle) – I suppose patience is needed.