Guest post by Francesca Di Mare Plane travelers often hope for smooth flights without bumpy turbulence. Turbulence is a kind of chaotic motion in the flow of fluids that is constantly changing in characteristics like speed, energy, temperature, and more. It is full of different-sized swirls that mix things together and dissipate, or spread out,… Read More »Turbulence is everywhere – even in space!
By Vincent Ledvina and Laura Edson With many thanks to aurora photographer Marybeth Kiczenski for reviewing the post As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more popular, many are using it to create content, including about auroras. While it can be useful, in a social media world that values speed, clicks, and engagement it can be hard… Read More »Keeping it Real: How to Spot a Fake Aurora Photo
Space weather—the everchanging conditions in space, influenced by the Sun—causes a range of different effects on Earth. These happen in many different timeframes for people, technologies, and societies. One such effect is the aurora: the Northern and Southern Lights. Usually, they occur in high-latitude rings around the North and South Poles called auroral ovals, but… Read More »When Can I See the Aurora?
One of the questions we get most often is, “how can I see the aurora?” The answer is surprisingly complicated and can be difficult to explain to students. In order to help explain, we made a collaborative, role-playing card game! With a special deck of printable cards and a dash of imagination, players work together… Read More »Aurora Chasers: The Game!
Humans have looked to the sky since time immemorial, and noticed a strange purplish arc with stripy green features that runs east to west and appears closer to the equator than regular aurora. In the mid-2010s, aurora chasers began to collectively photograph and speculate about the phenomenon, which did not yet have a formal scientific… Read More »What’s in a name? The meaning of STEVE
Guest post by Dr. Liz MacDonald, Sarah Kirn, and Laura Edson As it rises, sets, dances the seasons with the Earth, and sends space weather our way, the Sun is an integral part of our daily lives. Science is one of many ways to get to know our Sun better, and the upcoming year will… Read More »Connecting Senses and Sensors with Solar Science
By Vincent Ledvina, Andy Witteman, and Laura Brandt Watching the aurora is a breathtaking experience, but unless they are very strong, the Northern Lights don’t look to the naked eye like their colorful photos. It’s not a trick of the light—just a difference in the ways eyes and camera lenses work. In Your Eyes The… Read More »Battle of the Lenses: Eyes vs. Cameras
Please excuse the slight delay in posting this while we underwent tech updates on our blog. While our favorite quirky purple arc has been observed for millennia, we want to celebrate one highlight in its relationship with humanity. STEVE (“Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement”) is a purplish arc with stripy green ray features that runs… Read More »Celebrating STEVE and You!
Guest post by Dr. Liz MacDonald The Heliophysics Big Year will celebrate solar science and its connection with our world; Heliophysics itself is the study of our Sun and how it interacts with everything in our solar system. Inspired by the “Big Year” concept in birding, this will be a personal quest to experience and… Read More »Coming soon: the Heliophysics Big Year
Citizen scientists can not only contribute to discoveries, but they can also bring their unique skills to bear to make discoveries of their own and create powerful tools to advance open science. Dr. Michael Hunnekuhl is one such innovator. Among atmospheric phenomena, STEVE (which stands for “Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement”) is one of those… Read More »Meeting STEVE Around the World