On day one of PolarTREC orientation we collected data in regards to several key inquiry questions.

    Inquiry Question #1: What is the minimum number of hours of sleep needed to attend the first day of orientation?

    Answer: 3

    My indoctrination to the PolarTREC family began with an impromptu Northern Lights Tour commencing just hours after landing in Fairbanks. A small team of four members of the cohort (Michelle, Keith, Bridget, and I) ventured out into the night to try our luck at seeing the aurora borealis, returning around 4:30AM.

    PolarTREC 2018 Cohort under the Northern Lights (Photo Credit: Mr. Bill SkyFire Portraits)
    Keith Smith, Michelle Hall, Kim Young, and Bridget Ward under the Northern Lights outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo Credit: Mr. Bill SkyFire Portraits)

    Inquiry Question #2: Does dancing on Earth have any effect on making the Northern Lights dance?

    Answer: Inconclusive.

    Bridget and I developed a "wiggle dance" to encourage the lights to move, ripple, ribbon, and flare. This dance was effective at keeping us warm and while data collected showed correlation between our dancing and the light's intensity of movement, causation is still questionable. Our team did observe two extended "shows" with amazing green and pink colors visible to the naked eye. Learn more about the Northern Lights.

    Northern Lights (Photo Credit: Kim Young)
    Northern Lights dancing in the Alaskan moonlight (Photo Credit: Kim Young)

    Inquiry Question #3: Who is the fastest PolarTREC Ice Park sledder?

    Answer: Wendy

    After dinner our group completed one final adventure of the day at the Fairbanks Ice Park. This park contained ice sculptures of various sizes created by teams from around the world along with ice slides. One slide was about 50 feet long and was 8 lanes wide for racing. Initial trials proved the friction was too high for sliding with just snow pants. After salvaging plastic sled remnants from a nearby trash barrel, our speed greatly increased. Ultimately, Wendy proved to be the fastest sledder in the park.

    Comments

    Kim Young

    Thanks! Mr. Bill taught us some great tricks for photographing the auroras - removing filters, setting focus to manual and on the infinity
    setting, changing ISO and shutter speed.

    Kim Young

    The photos can only caption a portion of what it looked like in reality. The best part was just looking up in awe!

    Guest

    How long do the northern lights last?

    Guest

    Are the northern lights beautiful? and how long does it last?

    Guest

    What caused the northern lights to move when you moved? I know what causes the northern lights, but how did it move when you move? If you think about it deeper, it just seems to get confusing.

    Caleb Houston

    Those pictures are AMAZING.

    Mrs.Lau Student

    Awesome photos! How many hours of sleep did you get before your first day of orientation? I can hardly go without getting nine! It would be fun if you got to go sledding under the Northern Lights! Stay warm and have fun!

    Sheleen

    Fairbanks Alaska must be pretty populated with tourist because those Northern Lights look so lovely!

    William M.

    The pictures of the lights look amazing! Were there any other colors appearing besides green?

    Joshua

    Would you say that the aurora borealis looks more appealing in real life than in photos?

    cheoraliz

    how many times do northern lights come in one year?

    Judy Fahnestock

    Great journal Kim! I look forward to reading more of your journals and following your expedition in late summer.

    Nell Herrmann

    I'm so glad you got a good sighting of the aurora. These photos are beautiful!