Aurora Science & Chasing: WEBINARS & SEMINARS
Aurora tourism and recreational activities have skyrocketed in the past decade. So much so that it has overtaken the amount of means put in aurora research, science communication and prediction. Subsequently, many people travel to see the lights or work in the industry of aurora chasing without the crucial elements to really understand what is going on or how to interpret the tools to use. There is rampant misinformation and misconception about the aurora and our mission is to try and rectify this in a way that uses the most accurate and advanced tools.
We offer aurora science and chasing classes monthly for both beginners and more advanced chasers. Every month, we offer a 'physical session' called SEMINAR in Tromsø city reserved for professional in the industry (aurora guiding companies, photographers...) and also a similar online session (WEBINAR) for everyone (including those who cannot attend our seminars in Tromsø).
The goal of the class is to give you a visual and didactic understanding of how the aurora works, where it comes from and eventually how to chase it in the best way to never miss it. For professionals, it's also about communicating the right information to clients, especially when they have questions going off the beaten path. Not to mention time managing / working around the aurora.
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With whom?
Adrien Mauduit is an aurora and space weather expert, an experienced aurora chaser with almost 10 years of expertise in many countries like the USA, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland. He serves as a hub for space weather and aurora prediction for the locale of northern Norway and is an active member of the Space Weather Woman Steering Committee, which aims at expanding the aurora chasing and space weather enthusiast community. Needless to say that you will be in good hands with his expertise and dedication!
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Where and when?
The WEBINAR is comprised of a series of 4 (5) weekly sessions of 3 hours. We offer this course every month. We tend to offer them on Saturday afternoons at 2-5 PM (GMT+1), but we sometimes alternate with week days to accommodate everyone and as many time zones as possible. For those who still can't attend and still desire a full course, all our sessions are recorded and all participants get access to the recording.
The SEMINAR in Tromsø is mostly spontaneous and depends on how many guides are interested. We have a meeting room at our disposal to offer the course to professionals. Opportunities will be published on our social media handles and if you don't want to miss the next one, please shoot us an email.
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How?
The course consists of four (extendable to five), weekly, 3-hour interactive sessions for a total of 12+ hours. The online version of the class is held via Zoom. We will record the screen to allow you to go back on the course without worrying about taking notes and all participants will have access to the recording. The maximum number of participants for this course is 15 people to keep it dynamic and intimate.
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What?
The lecture includes several parts. We expand on how the aurora is created from the Sun to our atmosphere, how solar activity influences the geomagnetic activity, the importance of geomagnetic latitude and longitude, the characteristics of the aurora (shapes, colors, behavior), how we typically experience the aurora during the course of a night, what is the best place and time, how to predict it and read the solar wind and ground data. We also go over many useful tips and tricks so that you never miss the elusive phenomenon. All of the information is smartly connected and offers you a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand insight on aurora science and chasing. You will be provided with some of the best home-made visuals in the field to grasp the phenomenon!
Here's a full overview of what the course entails. As the course is actually worth much more than what is captured here, some of the subjects might be brushed over and some other developed more depending on the attendees' need.
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Prerequisites of physics – plasma, magnetism, electricity, intro to the 4 levels (20 mins)
CHAPTER I - GETTING TO KNOW THE AURORA (~10h)
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Level 1 - The Sun & the corona: introduction to heliophysics
Physical and chemical structure of the Sun, magnetic configuration of the Sun leading to the solar activity and cycles.
Features of the photosphere
Features of the chromosphere (Br, Ar, loops, prominences / filaments, CH)
Solar events
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Level 2 – The interplanetary space, transient events, the solar wind
Monitoring the IPS
Recognizing and understanding transient events in the solar wind (SBCs, IPs, HSSs, CIRs, SIRs, ICMEs)
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Level 3 – The geomagnetosphere: structure & dynamics
Structure of the magnetosphere
Coupling of IMF and geomagnetic field: the Magnetospheric Convection Cycle (Dungey Cycles)
Magnetospheric disturbances and particle precipitation
Magnetospheric response: directly driven and loading/unloading events
The magnetospheric substorm
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Level 4 – The ionosphere, ionospheric currents & auroral phenomena
Composition of the ionosphere & the aurora as a layered phenomenon
The auroral oval / electrojet
L-shells, magnetic mapping, Auroral zones and geomagnetic coordinates
Geo-effectiveness and geomagnetic activity
The Auroral Substorm
Measuring and monitoring the geomagnetic activity (Magnetometers, magnetograms, K index, other geomagnetic indices)
Geomagnetic storms
Auroral structures and colors
CHAPTER II - FORECASTING & MONITORING THE GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY AS A CHASER (~3h)
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3 step workflow with tools to use
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Detail of the tools
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Case study
CHAPTER III - CAPTURING THE AURORA (1h)
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Gear
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Planning
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Camera setup and settings
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Taking the picture
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Filming the aurora
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Practical
One online session costs NOK 3000 for the whole 12-hour course purchased once as you book. All four sessions will appear in the booking calendar, but you should only book ONCE!
The physical lecture (in Tromsø) costs NOK 1500 with a discount (50% off the third person from the same company, 20% off for each person from a same company attending above or equal 5). By proceeding with the booking you are accepting the terms of payment for the class (no refund policy because we offer alternatives every month!).
PLEASE READ BEFORE BOOKING: By purchasing the course, you agree to our terms and conditions regarding refunds / cancellations policies and IP.
(1) Cancellation up to 72 hours prior to the course possible with partial refund (50%).
(2) No FULL refunds once the session is booked.
(3) No cancellation/refund possible after that the 72-hour time limit.
(4) Access to the recording will be available with a special private link at the attendant's sole discretion. It will be reviewable but not downloadable to protect our intellectual property and the privacy of other attendants.
(5) No figures or text created by the author for this course may be used in any other way than the private home (private use) without the author's prior written consent.
Read all our customers reviews and testimonials
Latest reviews: 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5 total)
'' I attended Adrien's webinar about the mechanism of our natural sky firework: the Aurora. The course was super good, with good explanations and well-designed illustrations to help you understand what is really going on. For aurora lovers, this is a must! You will learn how to better predict them, understand what you see, and decide if it's time to go home or stay in the field. (for my case, I missed some aurora, but now that I've taken the course, this won't happen again!) Also, for those who are keen to know what really happens aurora-wise in our interplanetary space and on earth, this course delivers enough informations to have a blast learning about the physics behind it. Adrien teaches in a very pedagogical and passionate way and takes time to answer questions. If you hesitate to take the course, just do it; you won't regret it! For me, certainly not the last time. And a big plus: the course is recorded, so you can have a look over and over again to really internalize everything! Thank you a lot, Adrien!'' Julien (August 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
'' I attended Adrien’s Aurora on-line workshop in Summer ’23. It was definitely worth it, on every level. We studied every topic about aurora, theoretical, practical, with case studies and useful tips for the field (planning your travel and sessions and even how to photograph aurora). I feel like I saved thousands of money, attending this course, because now I will be able to plan a travel and a session by myself, avoiding unnecessary travel. Adrien is a great teacher, very helpful and always willing to clarify all concepts. I would recommend anyone interested in the aurora phenomenon to attend this course, it will be a lifelong investment. Many false myths about the aurora are spread online and on social networks. I assure you that by following this course you will be able to distinguish what is reliable in all this information. Thanks a lot Adrien for everything, see you in the Arctic.'' Emanuele. D. (August 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''I attended Adrien’s workshop virtually. The classes were very informative and complete. Adrien is a friendly, patient and good presenter who is willing to stop and take questions which he answers and makes sure the answer is understood. He provides lots of downloadable resources. I am in a quiet aurora zone right now but I will definitely be re-visiting the resources once I get a little closer to seeing aurora again. A very worthwhile investment.'' Greg (April 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''What an expert!!! I booked the „aurora webinar“ in march - four days of 3,5 Hours with an extra day (4 hours) for case studies and questions. The webinar was great! I am not an aurora guide; I just booked it for fun and to understand all the things for my next adventures and (hopefully) for the aurora in Germany 😅 Adrien is an excellent guide and teacher. He explained a lot of things in detail that leads to an aurora. Beginning from the sun, to the CME and the magnetosphere/ionosphere of the earth. The webinar will be recorded so you can learn it self-paced and watch it multiple times. Although I am not an native English speaker, I could follow him easily! I definitely recommend the webinar - especially for every aurora guide! Thank you Adrien for your time and passionate webinar!!!'' Isa (April 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''Adrien is an excellent photographer, very friendly and pedagogical. We had a great evening and managed to take some beautiful photos thanks to his guidance.
He had chosen a wonderful location near Tromso, not the first we had planned because he was able to adapt at the last moment to changeable weather.
I hope to be able to come back another year to redo a field workshop with him.'' Sebastien C (March 2023)💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''This was my first but definitely not last class with Adrien. His knowledge and passion for the subject just oozes out of him and that's exactly what makes him a great teacher for anyone who wants to see and learn everything Aurora/ Northern Lights. I will be back!'' Marc Blum 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''We had the chance to meet Adrien and we took an „aurora photo workshop“ to learn how to take pics with our 10yrs old cams. We both were newbies in manual photography and he gave us in very simple steps the right keys to success in the night when lady aurora showed up.
We are so proud, that we were able to catch some good shots by each one of ourselves! We’ll be back and take some more photoworkshops with island excursions next winter! Thank you Adrien, we appreciated your patience with us and your support to learn so easily the aurora photography!''
Best regards from Switzerland,
Sasha & Veronica. 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''Had the greatest pleasure of meeting this amazing artist. Took a workshop on night photography under him and learned so much. Not only is he exceptionally talented but is also generous with his knowledge.'' Sweetie de Leon Gonzales 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
Read all our customers reviews and testimonials
Latest reviews: 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5 total)
'' The best way to finally understand how the Aurora works, is created and how to chase it! Adrian is a really really good teacher and knows how to explain even complex things in a easy way so everybody understands. He is really pacient, has extemly lots of knowledge about the Aurora. And mostly he really cares that everybody understands. You can feel his own passion, excitement and experience about the Aurora which makes the course so unique and fun ☺️ I would recommend to course to everyone who is interested in the Aurora, physics or space weather. You gonna love it for sure!'' Luisa (September 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
'' I attended Adrien's webinar about the mechanism of our natural sky firework: the Aurora. The course was super good, with good explanations and well-designed illustrations to help you understand what is really going on. For aurora lovers, this is a must! You will learn how to better predict them, understand what you see, and decide if it's time to go home or stay in the field. (for my case, I missed some aurora, but now that I've taken the course, this won't happen again!) Also, for those who are keen to know what really happens aurora-wise in our interplanetary space and on earth, this course delivers enough informations to have a blast learning about the physics behind it. Adrien teaches in a very pedagogical and passionate way and takes time to answer questions. If you hesitate to take the course, just do it; you won't regret it! For me, certainly not the last time. And a big plus: the course is recorded, so you can have a look over and over again to really internalize everything! Thank you a lot, Adrien!'' Julien (August 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
'' I attended Adrien’s Aurora on-line workshop in Summer ’23. It was definitely worth it, on every level. We studied every topic about aurora, theoretical, practical, with case studies and useful tips for the field (planning your travel and sessions and even how to photograph aurora). I feel like I saved thousands of money, attending this course, because now I will be able to plan a travel and a session by myself, avoiding unnecessary travel. Adrien is a great teacher, very helpful and always willing to clarify all concepts. I would recommend anyone interested in the aurora phenomenon to attend this course, it will be a lifelong investment. Many false myths about the aurora are spread online and on social networks. I assure you that by following this course you will be able to distinguish what is reliable in all this information. Thanks a lot Adrien for everything, see you in the Arctic.'' Emanuele. D. (August 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''I attended Adrien’s workshop virtually. The classes were very informative and complete. Adrien is a friendly, patient and good presenter who is willing to stop and take questions which he answers and makes sure the answer is understood. He provides lots of downloadable resources. I am in a quiet aurora zone right now but I will definitely be re-visiting the resources once I get a little closer to seeing aurora again. A very worthwhile investment.'' Greg (April 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''What an expert!!! I booked the „aurora webinar“ in march - four days of 3,5 Hours with an extra day (4 hours) for case studies and questions. The webinar was great! I am not an aurora guide; I just booked it for fun and to understand all the things for my next adventures and (hopefully) for the aurora in Germany 😅 Adrien is an excellent guide and teacher. He explained a lot of things in detail that leads to an aurora. Beginning from the sun, to the CME and the magnetosphere/ionosphere of the earth. The webinar will be recorded so you can learn it self-paced and watch it multiple times. Although I am not an native English speaker, I could follow him easily! I definitely recommend the webinar - especially for every aurora guide! Thank you Adrien for your time and passionate webinar!!!'' Isa (April 2023) 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''Adrien is an excellent photographer, very friendly and pedagogical. We had a great evening and managed to take some beautiful photos thanks to his guidance.
He had chosen a wonderful location near Tromso, not the first we had planned because he was able to adapt at the last moment to changeable weather.
I hope to be able to come back another year to redo a field workshop with him.'' Sebastien C (March 2023)💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''This was my first but definitely not last class with Adrien. His knowledge and passion for the subject just oozes out of him and that's exactly what makes him a great teacher for anyone who wants to see and learn everything Aurora/ Northern Lights. I will be back!'' Marc Blum February 2022 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)
''We had the chance to meet Adrien and we took an „aurora photo workshop“ to learn how to take pics with our 10yrs old cams. We both were newbies in manual photography and he gave us in very simple steps the right keys to success in the night when lady aurora showed up.
We are so proud, that we were able to catch some good shots by each one of ourselves! We’ll be back and take some more photoworkshops with island excursions next winter! Thank you Adrien, we appreciated your patience with us and your support to learn so easily the aurora photography!''
Best regards from Switzerland,
Sasha & Veronica, March 2021 💚💚💚💚💚 (5/5)