Midnight Sun Season | Explore Fairbanks, Alaska (2024)

FAQs

Can you see the midnight sun in Fairbanks? ›

Fairbanks has long been known as “the Land of the Midnight Sun.” During the Midnight Sun Season which runs from April 22 to August 20 the sun never seems to set.

The December solstice (winter solstice) in Fairbanks is at 12:20 am on Saturday, December 21, 2024. In terms of daylight, this day is 18 hours, 8 minutes shorter than the June solstice. In most locations north of the equator, the shortest day of the year is around this date.

Fairbanks sees 24 hours of daylight for 70 days, from mid-May through mid-July.

(I'm not crying, you're crying.) The best time to see the aurora borealis in Alaska is from August 21 to April 21. We call it the Aurora Season. So yes, there are some very lucky cruise passengers who will see the northern lights in the Inside Passage late in the summer and fall, but don't bank on it.

Fairbanks' Aurora Season is from August 21 to April 21 and the aurora will be visible in Fairbanks an average of four out of five nights when the sky is clear and dark enough. Scientifically speaking, the aurora is dancing above year-round, but we can only see it during the Aurora Season when we have dark enough skies.

We suggest four to five nights as an ideal amount of time to scan the skies for the northern lights.

Best Time to Visit Fairbanks

If you're looking for daylight and warm temps, the best time to visit is June through August, when summer is in full swing. Temperatures can get up into the 80s and it doesn't get completely dark for 70 days straight, from May 17 – July 27.

Because Fairbanks is so far north, the area experiences 70 straight days of sunlight from approximately May 17th through July 27th, and conversely, during the Winter Season, the area experiences a significant reduction of daylight hours.

The shortest day of the year in Fairbanks, around the Winter Solstice, Dec 21) there is officially 3 hours and about 41 minutes of daylight available.

Fairbanks is located just under 65 degrees latitude, which puts it south of the Arctic Circle. However, Fairbanks has most other features associated with the Arctic, including being on the permafrost and tundra, having a very cold climate, and frequently within viewing range of the Northern Lights.

Why is it called nautical twilight? ›

Nautical Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. In general, the term nautical twilight refers to sailors being able to take reliable readings via well known stars because the horizon is still visible, even under moonless conditions.

For those two hours between sunrise and sunset, it's basically dusk or dawn because it never actually gets dark. This all-day daylight occurs from May 17 through July 27 in Fairbanks.

Do the Northern Lights appear every night? No, Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) don't appear nightly; their occurrence depends on solar activity, geomagnetic conditions, and atmosphere.

Many can agree that one of the most beautiful scenes to witness is the swirls of green, blue, yellow, and sometimes pink that paint the dark Alaskan sky. You may be surprised to find out that Alaska is the only place in North America where the northern lights happen every day.

You can see the northern lights from anywhere in Fairbanks. A favorite in-town location, Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge is 2,200-acre/8.9 km and is located 2 miles/3 km from Downtown Fairbanks. Creamer's offers wide open fields and wooded trails easily accessible on a well-maintained, paved road.

Because Fairbanks is so far north, the area experiences 70 straight days of sunlight from approximately May 17th through July 27th, and conversely, during the Winter Season, the area experiences a significant reduction of daylight hours.

In Barrow, the northernmost place in Alaska, there are 67 days of darkness. But in Fairbanks, right in the middle of the Interior, there are almost four hours of daylight on solstice.

In fact, the northernmost city in America – Utqiaġvik, Alaska, formerly known as Barrow – has near-constant darkness from mid- to late November until late January because the sun never rises during that 60-plus-day period. Hours of daylight (sunrise to sunset) on the winter solstice.

When is the midnight sun likely to occur in the Arctic? In the Arctic Circle, you can see the midnight sun around the time of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere – 21 June. The further north you go the longer the midnight sun will last, as you are closer to the North Pole.