Somewhere in the middle of a cold Alaska winter night while the Aurora displays it's brilliant light, you might find Jan Curtis and his camera capturing images of the beautiful phenomenon. 

The Aurora Borealis, otherwise known as the Northern Lights, are most predominate north of the Arctic Circle. But, on occasion, they can be seen as far south as Cuba and maybe even further south than that, according to Curtis.

What Causes The Aurora? 

When the sun has what's known as a coronal mass ejection, otherwise known as a solar flare, it sends solar wind containing protons and electrons into space. If earth happens to be in the path of these solar winds when they pass by, the elements strike the magnetosphere, the area above earths magnetic poles, and generate a virtual magnetic and Auroral storm. 

When components of the upper atmosphere such as nitrogen and oxygen are bombarded by the solar wind, they become excited, generating different colors. The predominant color is green, Curtis explains. But reds and blues are also possible depending on the type of molecules the solar wind is interacting with. Much the same as the colors you see in a neon light, he added. 

When Can They Be Seen? 

During a recent interview with Curtis, he said, "There's a long term cycle, which is known as the 11 year sun spot cycle, which we are actually at the solar maximum point as we speak. For the next several years there will be more opportunities for the Aurora to occur." 

The best time for seeing the Aurora according to Curtis, is during the winter and early spring. Mainly because these seasons produces some of the clearest skies. If you were living in a big city, the chances are you would never even know they were there due to the city light or pollution. However, the further north you go, the better your chances will be to observe them, mainly because they are more frequent. 

During the winter in Alaska, Curtis explains, the sun doesn't rise north of the Arctic circle. At that point, the Aurora would be best for viewing in the northern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere you have the northern lights, otherwise known as the Aurora Borealis. In the southern hemisphere you have the southern lights, known as the Aurora Australis. However, when you consider there isn't any land within several hundred miles of the Antarctic, the northern lights are your best bet and Alaska is your best choice. Unless of course you were in space.

NASA's SOHO spacecraft, or Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, follows events such as eruptions on the sun in real time. The reason being, large Auroral events can trigger disruptions in communications and even power outages. 

The speed of the solar wind is determined by the size of the solar flare, but speeds of 2 million miles per hour are average. That offers some form of early warning, but NASA's ACE spacecraft, short for Advanced Composition Explorer which sits 1.6 million miles closer to the sun, gives us 45 minutes of warning time. It also gives a more accurate account of what size of event can be expected. That provides crucial lead time for power companies to "power down," before power grids are overloaded.

"They're a phenomenon that once you see, you want to see over and over again because they are very beautiful. But as I emphasized before, the key to actually being successful in seeing them is patience. Sometimes it's really cold outside and you don't want to be there, but when the displays start up, you forget about the cold and really enjoy what you're observing," Curtis said. 

Considering most people never see the Aurora and the solar maximum condition now, a trip to Alaska, or keeping an eye on solar activity, could provide those with patience the opportunity of a lifetime.

The man behind the images, Jan Curtis, climate researcher for the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks,