{"id":2169,"date":"2025-03-21T20:26:39","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T20:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurorasaurudev.wpengine.com\/?p=2169"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:17:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:17:35","slug":"warmth-and-awe-winter-field-school-students-on-seeing-the-aurora-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/?p=2169","title":{"rendered":"Warmth and awe: Winter Field School students on seeing the aurora for the first time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
Winter Field School students and instructors chasing aurora. Photo by Andy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For many across the world, seeing the aurora is a life goal, something for the bucket list. Realizing the dream of a successful aurora chase can be an awe-inspiring, profound experience. If you\u2019ve seen the aurora, do you remember how you felt the first time you saw it dance?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re not alone. In early January, nine undergraduate and graduate students traveled to a week-long Eclipses to Aurora: Winter Field School at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to round out the Heliophysics Big Year. Participants had been part of the <\/span>Eclipse Ambassadors<\/span><\/a> program. They were selected for a culminating field experience in the Winter Field School: an educational introduction to another aspect of the field of heliophysics. Along with expert lectures and hands-on learning opportunities with <\/span>Poker Flat Rocket Range<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>Museum of the North<\/span><\/a>, students learned about heliophysics, actively participated in citizen science data collection using a variety of instruments\u2014and experienced their first aurora chase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As one of their assignments, participants crafted \u201cepiphany essays\u201d describing their learning. We are starting this blog post series by highlighting their deep thoughts and reflections on seeing the aurora for the first time during this transformative experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"In<\/a>
Photo by Jeffrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On our first night at Cleary Summit, I saw Polaris, the North Star, at an inclination of 64.9 degrees above the horizon. I knew this because I had studied it in college: the inclination of Polaris corresponds to your latitude on Earth. That night, we saw a faint aurora\u2014a small, lone arc. It wasn\u2019t the most impressive display, a heliophysicist would say, but for many of us, including myself, it was one of the most beautiful sights we had ever seen. I looked at the aurora with a naive smile on my face, the same smile I wear whenever I walk or drive to stargaze. It\u2019s the kind of smile that reflects pure, unfiltered awe\u2014the same awe I\u2019ve always felt whenever I\u2019ve looked up at the night sky. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Feras<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Like<\/a>
Photo by Khalid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we went outside to chase the auroras, the cold hit me first. The freezing air was sharp, and I could barely feel my fingers even with gloves on. But none of that mattered because we all had one goal: to look at the sky and find the northern lights. Standing there under the vast Alaskan sky, surrounded by people from different backgrounds and different levels of understanding about heliophysics, I started to feel something shift.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It didn\u2019t matter if I didn\u2019t know all the scientific terms or if I wasn\u2019t an expert in space science. In that moment, we were all just people looking up, waiting for something magical. And when the auroras finally appeared, it was like the sky itself reminded us that we were connected. We all stared in awe, sharing smiles and excitement. The auroras didn\u2019t care about our majors or our knowledge\u2014they brought us together under the same sky. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Khalid<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Soft,<\/a>
Photo by Jeffrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After spending time outside collecting data in the biting cold, where the aurora was only just beginning to stir, I returned to the visual viewing room for warmth. The air outside had been sharp and unforgiving, but inside the glass box, everything felt different. I plopped down on the couch, letting my body sink deep into its embrace. My head tipped back, and even from inside, I could still see the aurora stretching and swaying across the sky, its colors weaving quietly through the night. As I settled in, a sprinkle of shooting stars flashed across the vast expanse above, each one fleeting and impossibly beautiful. The cold that had stiffened my fingers and chilled me to the bone was now a distant memory; warmth filled me, both inside and out. For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn\u2019t worried about anything at all. The fragility I often feel\u2014like I\u2019m made of glass, ready to shatter under the slightest pressure\u2014melted away in that moment. All I could do was bask in the wonder and glory of it all, wrapped in warmth and awe, as if the universe itself had paused to breathe with me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Sophia<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Rising<\/a>
Photo by Jeffrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How beautiful it is to reflect on the simplicity of that moment. We were not engaged in solving complex problems or pondering the intricacies of rocket propulsion systems. We were simply observing something timeless\u2014an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon that has existed for millennia. My role as a photographer on this trip helped elevate some of those sentiments, forcing me to acknowledge the simplicity in seeing the joy on people\u2019s faces as I depressed the shutter button on my camera to grab that very moment in time to hold onto for an eternity. This experience serves as a reminder of the fulfillment that comes from embracing the simplicity of life\u2019s most profound moments. Those moments of gazing up at the night sky and watching a bright, green, liquid-like light tear through our atmosphere. Those moments of talking to individuals who felt as though they are doing exactly what they have always wanted to do. Those moments of looking through the viewfinder on my camera and witnessing excitement in its purest form. Those moments of being together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Jeffrey<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Arcing<\/a>
Photo by Jeffrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The air grew quiet, almost reverent, as though the universe itself was holding its breath in anticipation. The familiar sounds of the world around me\u2014the crunch of snow beneath boots, the faint rustle of branches in the crisp, cold air\u2014seemed to fall away, leaving nothing but stillness. It was as though everything had stopped, allowing space for something sacred to unfold. And then, slowly, the sky began to change. What had been a dark expanse dotted with distant stars shifted and danced with a light I could barely comprehend. At first, it was a delicate brushstroke of green, like a whisper across the night. But then it grew, twisting and twirling, moving with the rhythm of a silent song.<\/span><\/p>\n

I held my breath as I watched the sky unravel before me. A green ribbon of aurora stretched across the heavens, flickering with the intensity of a fire barely contained. But then something more profound happened. The colors deepened and shifted, painting the sky with a palette I had never imagined. It was as if the universe had decided to reveal a secret. It beckoned, like a siren song, inviting me to stand in awe and witness its grace.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLook!\u201d I gasped, breaking the stillness. \u201cIt\u2019s the aurora! The northern lights\u2014wait, look, it\u2019s a spiral!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The spiraling ribbon of color seemed to pulse, alive in a way that no one could truly understand unless they had stood there in that exact moment, felt the electricity of it all surge through them. It wasn\u2019t just beauty. It wasn\u2019t just science. It was an experience that spoke to the very core of my being, urging me to step beyond the ordinary and reach for something more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Vishvi<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

We hope you enjoyed these portraits of their experiences. Stay tuned for more from Winter Field School students!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Winter Field School was a supplement to the <\/span><\/i>Eclipse Ambassadors<\/span><\/i><\/a> program, and was led by <\/span><\/i>Aurorasaurus<\/span><\/i><\/a> and the <\/span><\/i>Astronomical Society of the Pacific<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many across the world, seeing the aurora is a life goal, something for the bucket list. Realizing the dream of a successful aurora chase can be an awe-inspiring, profound experience. If you\u2019ve seen the aurora, do you remember how you felt the first time you saw it dance?\u00a0 You\u2019re not alone. In early January,… Read More »Warmth and awe: Winter Field School students on seeing the aurora for the first time<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,24,7,30,31],"tags":[22,20,21,23],"class_list":["post-2169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aurora-testimonials","category-citizen-science","category-education","category-fieldwork","category-helio-big-year","tag-arctic","tag-auroras","tag-citizen-science","tag-northern-lights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}