Alaska’s Arctic lights & Arctic nights
Capital: Juneau. Bird: willow ptarmigan. Dog: Alaskan malamute. Flower: alpine forget-me-not. Tree: Sitka spruce. State sport: dog mushing.
Right now in Fairbanks, located near the midpoint of the state, there are 5 hours and 41 minutes of daylight. Sunrise is around 9:45 A.M., and sunset is 3:26 P.M. By next month’s winter solstice, there will only be 3 hours and 43 minutes of daylight. Come June, the land of the midnight sun will boast 21 hours and 49 minutes of daylight. Welcome to Alaska, The Last Frontier that stretches across land and sky.
I learned these facts from a picture book titled Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights, which describes Alaska’s light, month by month. The book also includes a dictionary with Arctic-specific sky terms, such as alpenglow, blinks, diamond dust, flat light, glints, sparkles, sun dogs, and northern lights (reflected on the state seal). Fairbanks even has an Aurora Borealis Lane.
Alaska is adventure, everywhere you go.
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