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A training presentation for the student presenters and front-desk staff of the Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium at the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks. Visitors to the planetarium's aurora show often ask staff how and when they can see the aurora, so this crash course gives staff the background to answer those questions with confidence. Topics Space weather and aurora 101: the Sun, the solar wind, Earth's magnetosphere, the ionosphere, and the auroral ovals How to see the aurora: where to go, why Fairbanks works well, and what time of year and night to look Auroral substorms: the growth, expansion, and recovery cycle behind the aurora's bursts of activity Forecasting the aurora: the Kp index and its limits at high latitudes, the OVATION model and aurora apps, NOAA long-term forecasts, and the UAF Geophysical Institute aurora forecast Aurora photography with phones and cameras, and why cameras see more color than our eyes Common visitor questions and misconceptions, such as "low Kp means no aurora" Files: the slides as a PowerPoint file (videos embedded) and as a PDF.
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Vincent Ledvina (2026) studied this question.
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