News
  • Rocket launches from Poker Flat Research Range

    First rocket of 2026 takes flight at Poker Flat

    January 30, 2026

    A two-stage NASA sounding rocket shot skyward from Poker Flat Research Range at 4:20 a.m. today as part of a long-running project to learn more about aurora-produced nitric oxide in the upper atmosphere.

  • Viewed from an aircraft, a closely-packed group of buildings sit on a small spit of snow-covered land surrounded by sea ice. In the distance, beyond the ice, is an area of open water.

    Twenty years of Arctic report cards

    January 30, 2026

    I sat in on the first Arctic Report Card press conference 20 years ago, and most of the years since. Here are some of the reported changes in the top of the world that have affected the rest of the globe.

  • A woman holds a large pink peony up to her face with the sun shining from behind

    Seminar highlights botanical garden's role in food system

    January 30, 2026

    A presentation by the Georgeson Botanical Garden's directing manager will highlight the garden's role in strengthening food security in the state. Lacey Higham's presentation is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension series "Circumpolar Connections: A Dialogue on Arctic Food Systems."

  • Scott Bailey of Virginia Tech stands with a portion of the rocket for his Polar Night Nitric Oxide, or PolarNOx, mission at Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks. Photo by Bryan Whitten

    Three missions, four rockets: Poker Flat ready for launches

    January 27, 2026

    The 2026 Poker Flat Research Range launch season opens this week with the first of three missions studying the aurora and the upper atmosphere.

  • A collage of two portraits. On the left is a head-and-shoulders portrait of John Davies. On the right is a close-up shot of Bruce Cech in a broadcasting studio wearing a mic, with a lighted sign in the background that reads,

    UAF Alumni Association names 2026 award recipients

    January 24, 2026

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks Alumni Association has named former UA regent John Davies and broadcaster Bruce Cech as its 2026 award recipients, recognizing their exceptional achievements.

News
  • Rocket launches from Poker Flat Research Range

    First rocket of 2026 takes flight at Poker Flat

    January 30, 2026

    A two-stage NASA sounding rocket shot skyward from Poker Flat Research Range at 4:20 a.m. today as part of a long-running project to learn more about aurora-produced nitric oxide in the upper atmosphere.

  • Viewed from an aircraft, a closely-packed group of buildings sit on a small spit of snow-covered land surrounded by sea ice. In the distance, beyond the ice, is an area of open water.

    Twenty years of Arctic report cards

    January 30, 2026

    I sat in on the first Arctic Report Card press conference 20 years ago, and most of the years since. Here are some of the reported changes in the top of the world that have affected the rest of the globe.

  • A woman holds a large pink peony up to her face with the sun shining from behind

    Seminar highlights botanical garden's role in food system

    January 30, 2026

    A presentation by the Georgeson Botanical Garden's directing manager will highlight the garden's role in strengthening food security in the state. Lacey Higham's presentation is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension series "Circumpolar Connections: A Dialogue on Arctic Food Systems."

  • Scott Bailey of Virginia Tech stands with a portion of the rocket for his Polar Night Nitric Oxide, or PolarNOx, mission at Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks. Photo by Bryan Whitten

    Three missions, four rockets: Poker Flat ready for launches

    January 27, 2026

    The 2026 Poker Flat Research Range launch season opens this week with the first of three missions studying the aurora and the upper atmosphere.

  • A collage of two portraits. On the left is a head-and-shoulders portrait of John Davies. On the right is a close-up shot of Bruce Cech in a broadcasting studio wearing a mic, with a lighted sign in the background that reads,

    UAF Alumni Association names 2026 award recipients

    January 23, 2026

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks Alumni Association has named former UA regent John Davies and broadcaster Bruce Cech as its 2026 award recipients, recognizing their exceptional achievements.

  • A man with a blond beard stands against a blue sky background while wearing a heavy red-and-black checkered wool coat and a knit cap.

    Carl Benson embodied the far North

    January 23, 2026

    Carl Benson's last winter on Earth featured 32 consecutive days during which temperatures in his chosen town did not rise above zero Fahrenheit.

  • A person places a piece of fresh salmon into a glass canning jar

    Spring kitchen canning, cleaning, exercise workshops scheduled

    January 22, 2026

    A spring class series hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will teach how to create homemade cleaners, pickle vegetables and can last year's frozen meat, fish, berries and fruit. Sarah Lewis, an Extension health, home and family development agent, will also teach a session on exercises to prepare for summer.

  • FNA opens behavioral health office at UAF

    January 21, 2026

    Fairbanks Native Association has opened a behavioral health services outreach and screening office on the Troth Yeddha' Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The office, located in UAF's Student Health and Counseling Center at 1007 N. Chandalar Drive, is open to students, faculty, staff and all members of the Fairbanks community.

  • Overhead view of a transmitter tower and building in a clearing surrounded by trees in summer foliage

    KUAC restores broadcast hours, revives programs with KTOO

    January 20, 2026

    Public broadcasting stations KUAC in Fairbanks and KTOO in Juneau have brought programming from the Create and World television channels back to viewers across Alaska. KUAC has also returned to broadcasting 24 hours a day.

  • Presenter at a 2025 lecture

    Science for Alaska talks and events announced

    January 16, 2026

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute will host free public science talks over the next few weeks, highlighting new climate research technology, an Alaska earthquake mystery solution, tidewater glaciers in Alaska and Greenland and a recent Bering Sea journey aboard the research vessel Sikuliaq.

  • A close-up photo captures shavings spraying from skate blades as a hockey player's legs, dressed in blue and gold, turn on an ice rink surface. The blade of a hockey stick slides on the rink in front of the ice skates.

    The physics of skating and slap shots

    January 16, 2026

    When two NHL hockey players collide, their pads and muscles can absorb enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for a minute and a half.

  • Cracks in a concrete basement

    Free radon test kits available during January

    January 15, 2026

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and a state agency are providing information about radon and free short-term radon test kits. Radon is a colorless, odorless cancer-causing gas that is commonly found in Alaska.

  • Tape reels, video film canisters, a tape deck and other materials sit on three shelves along with an old sign for

    KUAC broadcasts preserved in Library of Congress archive

    January 15, 2026

    Hundreds of historical KUAC TV broadcast materials are now available online thanks to a grant from the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

  • Ice fog in Fairbanks

    Alaska climate report: December's deep cold, deep snow

    January 14, 2026

    December was a busy weather month across the state.

  • Holiday light strings illuminate the snowy entrance to Georgeson Botanical Garden.

    Georgeson Botanical Garden holiday lights display extended

    January 14, 2026

    Because of the extremely cold weather over the past month and an optimistic weather forecast for the next month, Georgeson Botanical Garden will extend its Arctic Lights holiday light display.

  • A woman pulls on a resistance band with another person behind her to ensure safety

    Workshop to discuss diet, exercise for bone health

    January 13, 2026

    Both men and women experience a decrease in bone density with age, increasing the risk of broken bones and frailty. In a Zoom-based class, Sarah Lewis, professor with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, will discuss how to eat with bone health in mind. She will also review exercises to maintain bone density and improve balance.

  • Children and adults look at and touch specimens in a laboratory room. A large table in the center of the room holds taxidermied mammals, furs, skeletons and skulls, and a tiger skin, caribou antlers and the vertebrae of a large animal are displayed around the room.

    Museum to host open annual open house Jan. 24

    January 09, 2026

    The University of Alaska Museum of the North will host its annual open house from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24.

More news

 

Events
More events

2025 winter Aurora Magazine cover

From left, Peyton Platter, Kyle Gaffney and Matt Hubbarde skate onto the ice at the Carlson Center during opening lineup introductions at the Governor’s Cup game on Jan. 31, 2025.

In the trenches: 100 years of Alaska hockey
Planetarium construction continues at the west side of the University of Alaska Museum of the North on UAF’s Troth Yeddha’ Campus in Fairbanks in August 2025. Photo by Bryan Whitten.

Coming soon: Out-of-this-world experience at new UAF planetarium
Jay Ramras, owner of Pike's Waterfront Lodge, speaks at the Boots and Books Scholarship Dinner on Oct. 23, 2025. UAF photo by Eric Engman.

Fire at Pike’s Landing sparks legacy of scholarship support
GeoFORCE Alaska’s fourth cohort — 31 high school students, 11 staff members, a bus driver and one mentor from Doyon Ltd. — gather at Desert View Lookout in Grand Canyon National Park on June 10, 2025.

Connecting Alaska’s rural students with geosciences
ACEP 2025 summer interns gather by Golden Valley Electric Association’s solar farm after touring the nearby battery energy storage system.

Transforming Alaska’s energy future