Solar Cycle 25 is Coming: What You Need to Know!
Guest post by Vincent Ledvina
Education
Exploring Aurora from Home
Aurora citizen science often involves gazing at the sky outdoors, but there is a lot of learning and citizen science that can be done from home! In this post, we have compiled some resources for families, students, and aurora enthusiasts. Best of all, we are here for you if you have questions on this material—tweet[…]
Nerdy Science Recipes for Your Next Party!
Each year, Goddard Space Flight Center holds a collegial poster party for scientists and engineers to showcase their ongoing research. One of the award categories is “Best Science as Food.” What better opportunity to try ideas for hands-on education? Aurorasaurus and our colleagues Dr. Anne-Marie Novo-Gradac and Dr. Kevin Novo-Gradac decided to represent the Heliophysics department by coming up[…]
Laura Learns Aurora: Holey Corona, Batman!
What are those dark spots on the sun? Coronal holes! In this repost, guest blogger Michael Kirk explains what a coronal hole is and tells us about current and upcoming research into the field.
NASA High School Interns Design a STEVE Satellite
NASA SEES summer intern Anna MacLennan reflects on her experience on the Earth From Space Aerospace Engineering team designing a satellite and creating experiments to study STEVE.
Hearts in the Ice: Citizen Science in the Arctic
If you turn on the news for very long, you’re likely to hear about some of the changes our planet is going through. Temperatures are on the rise, glaciers are receding, precipitation patterns are changing — and many of these developments are most obvious in the polar regions. A formidable two-woman team is heading to[…]
An Interview with Jordan: STEVE Science Fair Winner
Jordan, an 8th grade student from Calgary, recently won the Rideau Park Science Fair with her poster on the new STEVE phenomena. Jordan tells Aurorasaurus more about her project and interest in aurora in this Q&A article. Read through to the end for some questions she asked Dr. Liz MacDonald, Aurorasaurus founder, also!
The Ultimate Undergraduate Field School Researching Auroras and Rockets in Norway
Andøya Space Center, Andenes, Norway January 22, 2018 In January of 2018, I traveled to Andøya Space Center in Andenes, Norway, to attend a four day rocket field school. My name is Hannah Gulick, and I am a sophomore at the University of Iowa studying astronomy, physics, and creative writing. I went as one of[…]
Lava Lamp or the aurora?
By Michelle Tebolt, summer intern 2017 Above our heads, the aurora provides one of the biggest and best light shows on Earth. The light moves about, flashes across the sky, similar to some of the types of man-made lights we are familiar with. However, this light show isn’t to set the mood for a party. It[…]
Debunking the aurora myth: What actually causes an aurora?
What’s wrong with this infographic? A common misconception about the aurora is that it’s formed by particles streaming straight from the sun. But that’s not the whole story. By only considering the solar wind, we leave some key questions unanswered like why do we see the aurora at night (when we’re facing away from the sun)? The answer lies in magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail.
