Here’s how to see the aurora in 2025:1. Tap the link in my bio and download my e-book, “A Beginner’s Guide to Aurora Chasing” for free! Usually it’s $9.99, but subscribing to my e-mail list will send an automatic download link.2. Learn to forecast the aurora. There are multiple forecast outlooks for the northern lights: 27 days, 3 days, and 4-5 hours. Lots of tools exist to help you know when enhanced geomagnetic activity is on the way, and I have everything listed in my e-book and online on my site.3. Travel to the right place at the right time. Auroral oval locations like Tromsø, Fairbanks, Reykjavik, and Lapland area are best for guaranteed views of the aurora. Also, you need to travel during the winter when the sun is low enough. You can’t see auroras at high-latitudes in the summer.
Wowwww! Was literally just falling asleep when I got a call from my roommate Maia to GTFO outside and the skies were RIPPING right as I opened the door into the front yard. wtf! Here’s a quick iPhone video. These are the only photos/videos I got of it. Had to put things down and just enjoy the moment.
Name a better duo than the aurora and a night in Alaska… I’ll wait.
Low key got jump scared by the aurora that night…
Hey, everyone! Here is the full talk I gave to the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA Goddard last month! This was a part of their weekly science seminars. The title is "Cutting-Edge Projects in Aurora Participatory Science." Definitely check it out for lots of details on aurora citizen science and recent discoveries.
I shared this talk last week with a YouTube link, but since Facebook throttles posts with links, I thought I would directly upload the talk here! Also, it's a little easier watching natively in Facebook than having to be redirected to an external site.
Here is the abstract for the talk:
Participatory science (formerly/also known as citizen science) connects scientists with the public to enable discovery, engaging broad audiences across the world. Participatory science in the space weather community takes many forms, including funded projects, coordinated campaigns, and grassroots efforts. Aurora chasers in particular collaborate with scientists and are key players in nearly all processes of aurora research. This includes the direct study of auroral phenomena and developing and evaluating educational space weather materials and tools. This presentation will highlight several cutting-edge participatory science efforts and the ways in which they are advancing aurora research and space weather education. 1. Aurorasaurus is a NASA and NSF-funded participatory science project producing real-time maps of global auroral visibility by crowdsourcing ground-truth reports on its website. Aurorasaurus’ data have been used to validate operational models of the aurora (e.g., OVATION) and was involved in the first modern scientific publication of the rare auroral phenomenon STEVE. The project also engages communities through its Ambassador network and educational initiatives. 2. AurorEye is a portable, autonomous all-sky imager optimized for timelapse aurora photography. Units are deployed to aurora chasers who gather data in the field, and the resulting all-s
Tag someone you’d cuddle up with and watch the northern lights.
Winter vacation in Alaska with the aurora is the move
Nice view today while flying into Anchorage! Alaska never looks bad 😂
Have you ever seen the auroras flash and flame like this?
Heads up, aurora chasers! I'm not sure if this slipped under the radar, but an Earth-directed CME is on the way.
Predicted arrival time: 2025-01-10 17 UTC (-7.0h, +7.0h). Kp 4-5 conditions anticipated.
The source could be an eruptive C2.5 flare near AR 3951 seen around 9:35 UTC on Jan 7.
Here is the NASA/M2M ENLIL model prediction for this CME.
Which aurora is your favorite?
