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.
Education
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.
Fidget spinning the eclipse
Fidget spinners are the latest fad toy and new student favorite, but did you know they can explain a total solar eclipse? Aurorasaurus founder Liz MacDonald explains how fidget spinners can be used to talk about physics concepts and orbital mechanics for kinesthetic learners.
Holey Corona, Batman! What are all of those dark areas on the sun?
What are those dark spots on the sun? Coronal holes! In this post, guest blogger Michael Kirk explains what a coronal hole is and tells us about current and upcoming research into the field.
Which processes in space cause these mysterious auroral beads?
This post is written by Aurorasaurus guest blogger Nadine Kalmoni, a PhD student at Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London in the UK. The first time I saw this incredible image of the aurora (Figure 1) was just before Christmas of 2015 as a twitter post by a member of the public. I remember thinking, “Wow!” Photos and[…]
Make Your Own Aurora
This post is available for re-posting on MAKER blogs. Please contact us at aurorasaurus.info@gmail.com to let us know. This post will share with you a new educational Maker idea for a hands-on fun aurora demonstration… but first, the motivation. Over 300,000 people attended the 2016 USA Science and Engineering festival in Washington, D.C. in April![…]
