Alaska

 **Alaska ** **A Land of Beau****ty And** **M****ystery**  **By: Sharon Thomas**

 Alaska,America's 49th state,is known as the "Land of Midnight Sun." It got its nickname for several reasons. One is because of its northern location and another is because of the span of time when the sun never completely descends below the horizon in the summer months giving the state sunlight 24 hours a day! For more information concerning other nicknames for Alaska and how it was purchased from Russia go to: [|Alaska The Last Frontier]  Alaska is the largest state in the union; one fifth the size of the lower 48. This is approximately two times the size of Texas. Alaska has 29 volcanos, 33,000 miles of coastline, and over half the world's glaciers; the largest being Malaspina, which encompasses 850 square miles! Alaska's coastlines touch three different seas: Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and the Bering Sea. For more facts about Alaska go to: [|Alaska Facts]

Besides the beauty of the landscape, the Alaskan skies can be filled with the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights. The aurora was named after the Roman goddess of dawn. In Roman mythology, Aurora, opens the gates of heaven every morning to make way for the sun god, Apollo. Late in the 17th century, the Italian astronomer Galileo used the name "Aurora" to explain the luminous glow in the nighttime sky. He believed that the dancing lights were caused by sunlight reflecting off the atmosphere during the coming dawn. This theory is no longer accepted. View the following video to grasp the understanding of how this  phenomenon occurs.

media type="youtube" key="YJBrMXSn-hU" height="344" width="425"  The Aurora is at its most dazzling from December to March and September to October. At this time the nights are longest and the sky is darkest yeilding itself to an amazing view of spectacular color. These lights can be seen as far south as Juneau and may last for hours or minutes displaying a colors of green, yellow, orange, and dark red lights. The rarest light display was viewed in 1958 and are still talked about today. Some Eskimos believe that the spirits are <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">playing ball in the sky with a walrus head. Still another legend calls them the flaming torches carried by departed souls guiding travelers to the afterlife. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> An intense auroral occurance can cause many problems on the ground. Electrical currents caused by the aurora may result in blackouts. Short wave communication can be disrupted and even render meteorological satellites inoperable. Even though the aurora can cause such destruction, hardy Alaskans like to bundle up in their parkas and lie on their backs in the snow to view the show! Some of the best viewing happens just outside Fairbanks, away from the city lights.Here is a video that will show the spectacular light show. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">media type="youtube" key="jFJOnwmN_8A" height="344" width="425"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Before visiting Fairbanks you my want to check the weather! <span style="color: #0025ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Weather in Fairbanks, AL]