While I will definitely be partaking in crazy cruise excursions such as ziplining and dog sledding when I go to Alaska in June, I am also looking forward to geeking out in a part of the world I've never experienced.
For my fellow cruisemates, here are some things to check out, monitor and watch for while vacationing.
Aurora borealis sightings
My name is Laura and I will be
your Space Weather Girl! This is not peak season for the Northern Lights, but I am very excited to announce that it
looks like we might have significant solar storms during the last part of
our trip, resulting in visible northern lights, otherwise known as the aurora
borealis.
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/Alaska/2013/06/04
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/weekly/27DO.txt
International Space Station sightings
While not unique to Alaska, we will get more than the usual number of opportunities to see the ISS as it whirs around the earth every 90 minutes.
The ISS can easily be seen with the naked eye on a clear night, and is the brightest thing in the sky besides the sun and the moon. Here are the times when we are most likely to be milling about the ship and open to an ISS sighting:
Here's a complete list of all 33 potential opportunities to see the ISS during our Alaskan adventure:
Not going to be in Alaska?
Find your sightings here: http://
Or, sign up for alerts here: http://
Whale and other Wildlife Watching
There is a strong likelihood we will be able to catch a glimpse of some magnificent whales right from our cruiseship! While I couldn't find anything specific to the humpback whales we are likely to see, I was able to find some live tracking data on bowhead whales, below.
This link has some great info on other creatures to watch for: http://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/spotting-wildlife-from-cruise-ships.htm
Webcams: http://www.kinyradio.com/webcams.html
Happy Sightings!
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