Aurora borealis 'fabulous' this year, say Northern sky watchers

Yukoner Murray Lundberg has seen plenty of spectacular auroral displays in the decades he's lived in the North, but this year he's been dumbfounded.

"This has been a fabulous year,' Lundberg said. "Even in late August, there were some incredible shows.

"Some of the best I've ever seen," he said.

Lundberg administers the popular Yukon Aurora Alert page on Facebook, so he's clearly an aurora aficionado. In fact, he says the spectral displays are a big part of the reason he lives in the North.

Sky watchers already knew this could be a big year for aurora borealis, corresponding to "solar maximum" — the peak of an 11-year cycle when more solar flare energy is being released into space, causing auroral activity.

More frequent, more intense

"Even in solar minimum years, you still get aurora, but they tend to be not so spectacular," said Don Hampton, an astronomer at the University of Alaska (Fairbanks) who regularly monitors auroral activity. He sometimes stays up late these days to see the show.

"The frequency of the aurora has certainly increased compared to about four or five years ago, and the intensity has also seemed to increase as well," Hampton said.

He's predicting more great shows in the weeks and months ahead.

"I'm think for the rest of the year, we're going to do pretty well," Hampton said. 

That's good news for Murray Lundberg, who'll never get sick of watching the ever-changing displays.

"I know the scientific explanation, of course, but it's all just magic to me," Lundberg said.

"Every night is different, every five minutes is different."