Featured Murphy Dome
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Stand of spruce on Murphy Dome, looking into the Chatanika Valley.
A two image panorama of the aurora over one of the rock outcroppings on Murphy Dome. It was a nice, warm night to go snowshoeing, but really windy.
Jupiter and Venus shining bright after sunset as twilight takes over on a cold, cold night on Murphy Dome. The "blue hour" lasts a very long time in the interior of Alaska for most of the fall, winter, and spring.
Watching
There are a few small tors scattered around the tundra on Murphy Dome.
We were exploring the top of Murphy Dome, looking for good places to photograph the aurora. The northern lights didn't do much that night, but it was one of the most beautiful blue hours I've ever seen.
The aurora was very active on the horizon to the northeast. I almost missed that the entire sky above me was pulsating, with color! This was display was filling the sky; you can see the constellation Orion bottom center, and the Pleiades cluster up and right.
Night falls on Murphy Dome outside Fairbanks, Alaska just a few days before the conjuction of Jupiter and Venus (right of the trees). The next conjunction of these two planets will occur August 18, 2014 - just as it's getting dark enough to see them from the Alaska Interior! (Photo - March 2012)
Murphy Dome after sunset.
Taken in the winter of 2012 on Murphy Dome. I definitely drove our car into a snow bank on this lovely evening. Luckily the aurora stayed out long enough that even after all the digging, flagging down cars, and towing the car out of a ditch we still were able to watch the show.
Jupiter and Venus are the bright ones on the right.
Aurora just off the horizon and a few satellites flying by. This was taken on Murphy Dome in March 2012.
A bit of aurora comes out and hugs the horizon.
