Since the Greece trip has been cancelled, it is now time to begin planning the next adventure trip, which will be to Alaska.

The main purpose for this trip will be to see the Aurora Borealis. Since the best time to view the Northern Lights is between September and March, and those two months are the warmer ones, we will go either March or September 2011.

Secondly, the months of March and September combine sufficiently dark skies with mild temperatures for comfortable viewing.As NASA astronomer Sten Odenwald notes, observations from Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin during a 55-year period spanning five sunspot cycles confirm that March and September are the most frequent months for auroras and January and July the least likely. Most solar activity comes from regions of the sun outside the solar equatorial band plus or minus 10° to either side of the solar equator.

The Earth in its orbit is inside this equatorial band during January and July, and when it is at it maximum heliographic latitudes in September and March, the Earth is in the zone of maximum solar activity. Another factor in choosing a “best time of year” has to be comfort for the viewer.

The plan will be to go to Alaska, see the Aurora Borealis, polar bears, do a little hiking and sightseeing and visit as many beautiful places as possible.