Skip to main content

Articles

Dark sky travel stories and planning essays (Page 5)

Long-form pieces I write on aurora science, astrophotography how-tos, destination deep-dives, and practical planning essays for dark-sky trips.

Night sky over a burned forest in Jasper National Park in 2026, recovering from the 2024 Jasper wildfire, the Dark Sky Preserve sky quality undiminished above a blackened tree line, the Milky Way visible through a widened horizon from a reopened stargazing pullout

How the 2024 Wildfire Changed Jasper's Dark Sky Preserve

Maya Okonkwo 7 min read

Jasper Dark Sky Preserve survived the 2024 wildfire that burned 32,722 ha. Stargazing spots, the planetarium, and the October festival are all back for 2026.

Read
A wood-fired Finnish sauna cabin beside a steaming ice hole in the snow with a faint green aurora glow above the treeline, illustrating the Lapland sauna ice swimming aurora ritual

Lapland's Sauna and Ice Swimming Aurora Ritual

Maya Okonkwo Updated 6 min read

Sauna then ice hole, then check the aurora forecast again: Lapland's oldest ritual doubles as the smartest way to wait out slow northern lights nights.

Read
A full moon glowing above a strong green aurora over a snow-covered Finnish Lapland landscape at night, illustrating whether a full moon ruins the northern lights in Lapland

Does a Full Moon Ruin the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland?

Maya Okonkwo 6 min read

A full moon can wash out a faint Lapland aurora, but a strong Kp5+ display cuts through it. FMI's forecast ignores moon phase — here's how to plan around it.

Read
A trip-planning desk in lamplight with a marked map of the Tromsø aurora trip route between the city and Lyngenfjord, a laptop showing a solar-cycle forecast chart, snow visible through the window at dusk

The Tromsø Aurora Trip I've Planned Three Times

Maya Okonkwo 9 min read

An 8-night Tromsø aurora trip I've priced out three times but not booked yet: the solar-cycle timing, split-stay shape, lodge shortlist, and the tour I'd add.

Read
Split-frame view comparing Yellowknife aurora by month: a faint green glow above lingering summer twilight beside a bright overhead display over snow-covered ground in early spring

Yellowknife Aurora by Month: August, September, October, April

Maya Okonkwo Updated 5 min read

August, September, October and April all sit inside Yellowknife's aurora season, but sunshine hours, temperature and tour odds differ sharply between them.

Read
Split winter night scene in Finnish Lapland comparing aurora activities: a husky sled team, a reindeer sleigh, and a snowmobile's headlight beam on a snow trail, green aurora borealis overhead against a deep blue Arctic night sky

Husky, Reindeer, Snowmobile, or Aurora Tour: One Lapland Night

Maya Okonkwo 7 min read

Husky, reindeer, snowmobile, or aurora photography tour: a decision framework for your one Lapland aurora night by budget, cold tolerance, and photo priority.

Read
T.E. Lawrence and Wadi Rum history: the Seven Pillars of Wisdom rock formation at the entrance to Wadi Rum, red sandstone massif in the Jordanian desert at dusk with early stars appearing above it

T.E. Lawrence & Wadi Rum: The Real Arab Revolt Story

Maya Okonkwo 5 min read

Wadi Rum's Seven Pillars rock was named in the 1980s in T.E. Lawrence's memory. Here's the real 1916-18 Arab Revolt and the Aqaba campaign behind the name.

Read
Wide-angle night photo of a sailing stone's long trail across Racetrack Playa in Death Valley leading toward the Milky Way, illustrating racetrack playa death valley stargazing under Death Valley's dark skies

Racetrack Playa Stargazing: Sailing Stones at Night

Maya Okonkwo Updated 6 min read

Racetrack Playa's sailing stones stumped scientists for a century, until GPS-tracked stones proved thin ice pushed them in 2013. Camping and photo tips follow.

Read
Green and violet aurora borealis rippling over a snow-covered pine forest in Finnish Lapland at night, evoking the Sami legends and Finnish revontulet fire-fox folklore of the northern lights, star-filled Arctic sky

Sami Legends of the Northern Lights: Revontulet & the Fire Fox

Maya Okonkwo Updated 5 min read

Finland's revontulet fire-fox legend and the Sami's own aurora traditions are two separate stories. Here's what each says, and how to visit both respectfully.

Read
Historic Métis homestead site along Snaring Road in Jasper National Park's Athabasca Valley, a landscape central to Jasper National Park indigenous history, mountains rising behind weathered log structures at dusk

Jasper National Park's Indigenous History: Removal and Return

Maya Okonkwo Updated 4 min read

Jasper National Park's Indigenous history: in 1907 the reserve was created on Stoney Nakoda and Métis land, and by 1910 families had been forcibly removed.

Read
Hawaiian star navigation and wayfinding scene: a double-hulled voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa sailing beneath a dense star field over open Pacific water at night, sail silhouetted against the Milky Way

Hawaiian Star Navigation, Wayfinding, and Hōkūleʻa

Maya Okonkwo Updated 6 min read

How Native Hawaiian navigators read stars, swells, and birds to cross open ocean: the star compass, Papa Mau Piailug, and Hōkūleʻa's 1976 voyage to Tahiti.

Read
Photorealistic historic Arctic observatory building on a snowy mountainside above Tromsø, Norway, green aurora borealis curtains overhead, illustrating the history of Tromsø's northern lights observatory research

Tromsø's Northern Lights Observatory History and Aurora Science

Maya Okonkwo Updated 6 min read

Kristian Birkeland's terrella experiments to Leiv Harang's 1946 discovery: how a mountain observatory near Tromsø became the birthplace of aurora science.

Read