Auroras are made when particles bump into atoms and molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, giving them energy. The atoms and molecules then give off that energy as light in specific colors: red, green, blue, and pink. But why on rare occasions do auroras seem to have yellow, cyan, or purple in them? In this… Read More »Why do auroras sometimes look yellow?
We often talk about the altitudes of aurora colors, but it can feel difficult to get a sense for just how high up the Northern and Southern Lights shine. Sometimes they seem to glow at vast distances high up in the sky, and sometimes they feel close, almost within reach. While we discuss auroral altitudes… Read More »HelioCrafts: Aurora Altitudes Hat
Hi! Laura here. Over the past two years, I’ve been learning about the world of heliophysics—the science of the Sun and its relationship with the planets, which includes the auroras. Aurora science gets very abstract very quickly, so as someone without a science background I’ve found it helpful to build models of some of the… Read More »HelioCrafts: Aurora Color Earrings
Meet the North Dakota Dual Aurora Cameras (NoDDAC)! This project is led by university student and Aurorasaurus Ambassador Vincent Ledvina in collaboration with Aurorasaurus, the University of North Dakota (UND), and LiveAuroraNetwork. Using both a north-facing and an allsky camera, NoDDAC provides aurora chasers with live views of the night sky from North Dakota. During… Read More »“What if North Dakota had its own aurora camera?”
In 2020, Aurorasaurus partnered with NASA’s STEAM Innovation Lab and NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission (MMS) to design and create the world’s first 3D printed magnetosphere model. We have just released the beta version (1.0) and are excited for educators, Makers, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and the general public to beta test it on printers and… Read More »The Earth’s Magnetosphere—3D Printed!
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!… Read More »Make Your Own Aurora