Q: We're in Texas. My wife wants to see the northern lights—me too. I'd like to fish one day, if possible. We’d like to come in April, if that's not too late to see the lights? —Stephen

A: If you want to see the northern lights, April is as late as you’d want to come. We talked with the folks at the Northern Alaska Tour Company—a tour operator that does excellent ground- and air-based trips to see the northern lights—and they advised that you should make sure that your aurora-viewing trip happens no later than the first half of April. As of March 21, the day-to-night ratio is 12 hours each day, and between April 1 and April 30, Fairbanks—the prime area for viewing auroras—is gaining 5 to 7 more minutes of daylight per day. By late April, the prime evening hours for aurora-viewing have pretty much become a memory.

For more information on seeing the northern lights, check out our pages on Auroras and Fairbanks on Alaska.org, as well as our page on Fishing. Good luck!