Every community of practice evolves its own vocabulary, and scientists and science communicators often rib themselves for how jargony STEM can be. In the late 1970’s, tech film narrator Bud Haggert created the affectionately cheeky “Turbo Encabulator“, using plausible but made-up jargon to make this classic engineering sketch incomprehensible. Engineers have delighted in recreating and… Read More »Small Words, Big Ideas: Up Goer Five
They dance above the clouds but below the aurora, crimson fingers stretching up and down, bursting like fireworks then vanishing in the blink of an eye. Sprites, brief flashes of red and purple light associated with lightning, are some of the least-understood electrical phenomena in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Even though globally there are 30-100… Read More »Sprites: The Aurora’s Flashy Cousins
Since time immemorial, humanity has developed a deep and multifaceted relationship with our nearest star. While each culture expresses that bond in its own way, humans share millennia of solar observation. The Sun makes life on Earth possible, and its ever-changing nature affects our daily lives. What does the Sun mean to you? In Kiuġuyat:… Read More »Relationship With the Sun
There’s nothing quite like the disappointment when a promising CME fizzles out, or when clouds obscure the sky during a magnificent aurora display (we feel for you in the Pacific Northwest!) Experienced aurora chasers point out that such fickleness is part of the excitement, and that’s true! The reason that the question “when can I… Read More »Negative Aurora Reports Are a Plus For Science!
While “discreet” means something that is a little bit secretive or unobtrusive, “discrete” auroras are distinct, bright, narrow bands—most commonly, photos of auroras are of this type. They typically have a definite lower border and can stretch high into the sky, like curtains, when viewed from the side. From below they are very narrow. They… Read More »What Is Discrete Aurora? (It’s Not Discreet!)
It’s June, the season for graduations and vacations. Whether you’re soaking up the sun at the beach, curling up in a cozy cabin, or enjoying an evening at home, we’ve pulled together a reading list of fantastic books that explore aurora science and citizen science using words and descriptions that are easy to understand. If… Read More »Summer (or Winter!) Aurora Reading List
One of the challenges of learning about aurora science is that so much is invisible or abstract. Fortunately, it’s not hard to make models of some concepts out of easy-to-find materials. In this post, we walk you through two easy do-it-yourself (DIY) projects that use nothing fancier than chenille stems (also called pipecleaners), paper, markers,… Read More »Fuzzy, Crafty Models of Aurora Science (Literally!)
Originally posted to NASA’s The Sun Spot blog NASA’s citizen science projects are collaborations between scientists and interested members of the public. Through these collaborations, volunteers known as citizen scientists have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries. Aurorasaurus is one such project that tracks auroras around the world in real time via reports on… Read More »Like an Outdoor Nightclub: Q&A on Pulsating Auroras
On February 24, running through March 10, 2022, the watch begins for the perfect opportunity to launch a sounding rocket into a common but rarely-viewed type of aurora: the pulsating aurora. The NASA Loss through Auroral Microburst Pulsations (LAMP) mission will send instruments high above the auroral light. Read on to find out what the… Read More »Be a Rocket Citizen Scientist: Help Study Pulsating Aurora!
We were excited to see “what is the solar wind” featured recently as a Daily Double on JEOPARDY! While the contestant missed the answer (oops!) it raises a valid point: the solar wind is an often misunderstood thing, and can be challenging to communicate. In this blog post, we’ll pull together some resources so that… Read More »Daily Double: Solar Wind