Fairbanks sits directly beneath what scientists call the auroral oval — the ring-shaped zone around Earth's magnetic pole where charged particles from the sun enter our atmosphere the most often. It is the very reason that Borealis Basecamp is here. Talk about location!

Twenty-five miles north of the city, on 100 acres of boreal forest, the camp's igloos sit on a ridgeline positioned to maximize the northern sky. Each dome faces northeast — the direction from which the aurora most frequently appears. The ceiling window is made from a fiberglass composite specifically developed to be clearer than glass with zero internal reflection. You lie in a heated bed and look up. When the lights come, they come to you. The staff wake you if you're asleep. This is the way to view the aurora!

Scientists tell us that the universe communicates through physical forces we can observe but rarely understand in the moment of experiencing them. The aurora is a good example of this. Those green and violet curtains moving across the sky, are the sun's magnetic energy colliding with Earth's magnetic field and then cascading into the atmosphere as visible light. The colors are so vibrant and the scale is almost incomprehensible. Lying in an igloo at Borealis Basecamp at two in the morning watching it happen is one of the most luxurious experiences we can imagine.

The camp's dining at Latitude 65 uses local Alaskan ingredients with genuine ambition. Activities beyond aurora watching include dog sledding, snowmobiling, reindeer experiences, and helicopter excursions. A travel tip: autumn is the camp's best-kept secret. September brings the birch trees into gold, the aurora returns after the summer's midnight sun, and the temperatures are milder than deep winter. Many guests who have been in both seasons say September is the one they recommend. What a great debate to have under the stars!