Fairbanks: midnight sun and northern lights

Far beyond the Arctic Circle, summer brings nearly uninterrupted daylight to Fairbanks; winter brings frequent northern lights.

A car remains useful for reaching observation points outside the city.

The University of Alaska Museum of the North, shaped like surrounding glaciers, displays exhibits on natural history and indigenous Alaskan cultures.

Just minutes away, the Chena River flows through downtown, a starting point for river cruises that tell the story of the local gold rush.

On clear nights between late August and April, far from city lights, the Northern Lights are visible here with one of the highest frequencies in North America.

In summer, with over twenty hours of daylight per day, local golf courses and gardens remain illuminated practically at midnight.

The summer solstice in Fairbanks brings nearly twenty-two hours of direct sunlight, so much so that baseball is played at midnight during a local tournament held every year on that date.

The opposite occurs in winter, when direct sunlight drops below four hours a day, a condition that paradoxically favors northern lights viewing in the long dark nights.