- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - For the past few decades more than 360 light bulbs have been lighting up the Anchorage sky. The Anchorage Daily News reports the tradition of a star lighting up Mt. Gordon Lyon dates back several decades. The star was light on Friday and will stay lit until after the Iditarod in March. Then it comes back on for one night: Sept. 11. The tradition of the star dates back almost to the beginning of the Cold War.  It sits next to a nuclear missile silo that housed warheads for several decades.  The story is that the star was built by a soldier patrolling the area. The star has a sensor that cuts power at sunrise and turns it back on at sunset, but someone has to replace the bulbs.