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The Aurora Chase

General description

An interactive and didactic Apple iBook guide that will help any aurora chaser get the best aurora experience regardless of their level. Inspired from the author’s famous aurora chasing lectures held right under the auroral zone, the book goes in depth about the science behind the aurora, experiencing the aurora in the field and aurora photography. The Aurora Chase strives to answer the most popular questions people ask when they go aurora chasing like ‘where is the best place, what is the best time of year, how can the aurora be predicted, what are the chances to see it, etc…’. The reader will find all the answers in a very easy-to-understand way (system of color-coded difficulty levels). Never miss out again on the aurora with this must-read! It is for now only available for Apple devices but an Android (ePub) version is in the making.

79 pages

English

Version 1.4

532 Mb

Videos

Interactives

What's in the book (Click to expand)

This guide is made up of three logically articulated chapters:

1) Getting to know the aurora

- The Source of the aurora
- The geomagnetic activity & its consequences
- Monitoring and Forecasting

2) Experiencing the aurora

- Characteristics of the aurora
- Getting ready for the aurora

3) Capturing the aurora

- Basics of astrophotography
- Camera settings
- Taking the shot

It is not your typical paperback book. We utilized all the advantages of having a digital book to include interactive figures, pop-over boxes to reveal text, images and definitions, an interactive glossary, videos, expandable diagrams to give the reader an immersive experience.

We also made sure to include color-coded difficulty levels in order for the reader to ID and target content depending on their level.

All you need to know about our Sun and the creation of Space Weather conditions / events.

For each event, how to recognize, forecast and anticipate them in graphs and imagery.

All the mechanisms of aurora-creating processes from when the solar wind leaves the Sun to when it arrives at our planet. We used all the right Space Weather jargon as well for you to familiarize yourself with the terms used in apps, websites and forecasts.
3 scales of interconnected events: solar events (CME, Coronal holes, flares...), Transient events (CH High Speed Stream, Sector Boundary Crossings, ICMEs), and gemagnetic events.

Step-by-step explanation of how aurora is created on our planet with zoom-in images from macroscopic to microscopic scale.

Where all the forecasting and real-time data comes from.

Where to find the best data, websites and apps to get you ready at home and in the field.

We exapnd a great deal on the geomagnetic activity, its scale and different consequences.

We explain the daytime and nighttime auroral oval, the different zones it creates depending on the strength of the geomagnetic activity, how the geomagnetic latitude and longitude affects how you see the aurora in space and time.

We developped a 3-step workflow to adopt when you are chasing aurora, in order for you never to miss out again:

1) Finding and using the right Space Weather forecasts a few days before a solar event hits

2) Reading, Decoding and understanding real-time solar wind data from graphs, websites and apps to anticipate every auroral event from up to an hour before it hits.

3) Reading, decoding and understanding magnetometers and indices derived from them (Kp, AE, Dst...) to anticipate geomagnetic substorms 1-5 minutes before they hit.

Step #2 includes reading and understanding ACE/DSCOVR real-time solar wind graphs in detail, what each line means and how they behave...

Step #3 includes understanding what a magnetogram is, what the different lines mean as an substorm event unfolds, where to find them, and how to use them to anticipate auroral shows.

We have an entire chapter dedicated to how the aurora is characterized physically and how we experience it in real-life.

We exapnd on the different shapes it takes, the different colors depending on the activity and altitude, but also the very important auroral behavior during both quiet and active geomagnetic conditions.

We go on about both the physical phenomenon, but also how people experience it in real-life (eye versus camera, how external factors affect the vizualisation...).

We also expand a great deal on the misunderstood 'substorm' phenomenon, which happens all the time during the creation of aurora.

We detail how the IMF plays a role on activating the substorm process in very detailed videos and imagery.

In 'Getting ready for the aurora', we answer the most frequently asked questions people have when they want to see the lights:
- What is the best place?
- What is the best time of year?
- What is the best time of the night?

We also included DO's and DONT's of aurora chasing. We reveal tips and tricks that we have learned after many years of chasing the Green Lady.

In the last chapter, we explain the concept of aurora photography as a part of astrophotography.

We talk at length on the gear you should get to photograph the aurora. Then, we detail the internal and external settings (like shutter speed, ISO or aperture) depending on the shooting conditions.

Finally, we expandd on getting the composition, timing and framing right.

NIGHT LIGHTS

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