The next time you see the aurora, just remember others across the world are watching the same storm.

Two people separated by vast distance can gaze up at the same moon. Two people separated by distance can look up and see the same aurora storm, but not necessarily the same activity.

"The moon is far enough out, so you can see the same thing," said Charles Deehr, professor emeritus of space physics and aeronomy at the Geophysical Institute. "The aurora is closer, 100 kilometers up."

If someone in Nome is looking to the eastern sky at the aurora, someone in Fairbanks looking to the western sky will see the same activity, according to Deehr.

"Someone in Nome is not going to see the same view we see here in Fairbanks," Deehr said. "The activity people see occurs simultaneously in a circle."

A person in Fairbanks will see one small section of the aurora, while a person in Nome sees a different section.

Alaska is large, spanning 570,374 square miles. But the state is also a relatively small community, with roughly 655,435 people. Connections are everywhere.

On Saturday, Nov. 11, for example, aurora watchers found themselves connected to a slough of people around the state who saw the same aurora storm.

"Auroral activity will be active," the Geophysical Institute's aurora forecast Web site said that day. "Weather permitting, active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Barrow to Anchorage and Juneau, and visible low on the horizon from King Salmon, Prince Rupert, Bismark and Montreal."

On the outskirts of Nome, Rick Anderson was at his house on Banner Creek, a 20-minute drive from town. The aircraft mechanic said the lights appeared as an arch to the northeast of the house. They were green with not much movement.

"It wasn't a real spectacular type thing, but it was still neat," he said.

Pete Robirds was mushing with his eight dogs near Shungnak, an Interior village in the Northwest Arctic when he and another teacher saw the lights.

"We saw them dancing," he said. "They were green and arched toward the north with more movement to the west."

The spectacle Robirds caught while on his sled was not just visual.

"We heard some kids whistling when we got back to town," Robirds said. "I guess they think the lights will move more if they whistle to them."

In Shishmaref, a coastal community on the Seward Peninsula, the school's sports name is the Northern Lights. The school colors are green and white, signifying the color dominant in the aurora. James Kakoona, a 16-year-old high school junior was driving around on his four-wheeler in Shishmaref when the northern lights caught his eye.

"They were moving around and they were green," he said. "They were nice and long, but a little dim."

Pam Laker, a Fairbanks dog musher, chicken farmer, retired electrician, and stay-at-home mom, said she also saw the northern lights that Saturday.

"They were green," she said. "It was a little too bright out to see them real well."

Laker and her husband have been talking to her 4-year-old son about the northern lights, and that night gave them a good visual.

"The moon was a little too bright, but there was still a pretty good plume," she said.

Perhaps the next time Pam is out with her family, they can relay to their son that other people across the state are seeing the same storm.

The Aurora Forecast Office at the Geophysical Institute has a Web site, which shows a longterm 28-day forecast. The site can be found at www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/.

There is also an aurora alerts forum where enthusiasts can share sightings, photos, and general discussion on the aurora. The forum can be found at www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraAlerts/.