The Astrophotography Picture Gallery

Note -- you have reached the original astrophotographs.com website. Thanks very much for visiting. Logo contact information has been updated (i.e. we moved to Taos, NM) as below:

Willis Greiner
12 Rabbit Valley Road / P.O. Box 1515
El Prado, NM 87529
303-903-8996 or 575-758-3670
taosastronomer@gmail.com

You may also want to visit Willis' new astronomy site at: taosastronomer.com/

Welcome to the "2004 Alaskan Aurora Borealis March 19th Supplemental " gallery of astrophotographs.com!

The photographs below are my most recent efforts. Included here are photographs from the 2004 Aurora Borealis display as seen from various Alaskan locations in the evening and early morning hours of late March, 2004. This particular gallery is the 2004 Alaskan Aurora Borealis March 19th Supplemental Gallery. If you wish to return to the main Aurora Borealis Gallery merely close this window.

My wife's and my goal was to travel to Alaska during the most prolific Aurora season, which is either March or September, approaching the equinox. It is generally accepted that a location near Chena Hot Springs, AK (approx. 60 miles east and a little north of Fairbanks) is "Aurora central," so to speak. The various complex reasons for this phenomena can be explored by linking to the below-listed scientific Aurora site.

The Aurora -- Information and Images -- is the site related to the Poker Flats research facility in Alaska, but also includes general information concerning Aurora and an excellent FAQ section. Also highly recommenced is the daily Aurora prediction link.

Access Chena Hot Springs Resort to learn more about the features of this Aurora-centric resort facility.

(above photographs courtesy Chena Hot Springs)

After a night filled with some spectacular Aurora (and a breakfast experience filled with the grating "live" violin sounds of the B&B's owner's daughter), we leisurely drove out to Chena Hot Springs (some 60 miles NE of Fairbanks and on a well-maintained paved road) on Friday, March 19, 2004. Upon arrival and check-in we signed up for the Aurora snow coach ride leaving the resort at 10 P.M. and driving to the remote (and light-pollution free) Charley Dome. Upon arrival that evening at the ridgetop, we were immediately greeted with many amazing Aurora -- the display reached a crescendo sometime after midnight of the minus 20 degree F night. Following some momentary viewing (and almost immediate battery freeze-up of their digital cameras) many of the tourists took up semi-permanent residence in the heated yurt -- I'm proud to state that we were outside (and comfortable in our rented arctic clothing!) throughout almost the entire night (perhaps 5 hours). Below are a selection of the "Greatest Hits" photographs from that awesome Aurora experience.

Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the selected photograph.

All the photographs below were taken with either a 35mm Pentax Spotmatic or Pentax 6X7 camera mounted on a traditional tripod. Lenses varied from standard to wide-angle -- this detail is noted on the individual image pages. Film was Kodak Portra ISO 800 color negative film, developed normally. All exposures were 60 seconds or less. Approximate times are noted on the individual image pages.

The thumbnail photographs seen and linked here to larger versions represent the very best of quite a few Alaskan Aurora images we obtained. Because we observed the Aurora on all four nights while in Alaska, I have included other photographs obtained on this trip to present a more complete Aurora experience for those interested. These links and specific details are noted both below and on the individual image pages.

To further explore the "Something New" section of astrophotographs.com please use the various navigation strategies below the photographs.

Click a photo below for a larger view and detailed information about how, when and where it was taken. The 2004 Alaskan Aurora Borealis astrophotography is available via telephone ordering as noted below.