UAF aurora scientist to appear on live Q&A
Marmian Grimes
907-474-7902
Aug. 4, 2023
University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute scientist Don Hampton will answer questions about the aurora during a live online event with Mike Fitz, a naturalist with the nature cam network Explore.org.
University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute scientist Don Hampton will answer questions about the aurora during a live online event with Mike Fitz, a naturalist with the nature cam network Explore.org.
The event is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 3:30 p.m. Alaska time/7:30 p.m. Eastern.
Members of the public can join via the Explore.org platform and Facebook and YouTube pages. The event will also be linked from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and UAF Geophysical Institute Facebook pages. Viewers will have the opportunity to ask questions via the chat windows in the platforms.
Interest in the aurora has spiked in recent months due to media coverage of increasing solar activity as the sun heads toward peak activity — known as “solar maximum” — in mid- to late 2024. The aurora’s luminous glow occurs when charged particles from the sun hit the atmosphere after getting captured by Earth’s magnetic field. When solar activity is high, the aurora can become very bright and visible at lower latitudes.
UAF maintains an aurora forecast page and a live aurora webcam on the Explore.org platform. The aurora can often also be viewed on the UAF Geophysical Institute’s all-sky camera, which captures time-lapse photos of the sky north of Fairbanks at the Poker Flat Research Range.
Find the live event here:
University of Alaska Fairbanks Facebook page
UAF Geophysical Institute Facebook page