Resources

The Aurora Summit wouldn’t be the amazing event it has become without the talents of our speakers! Scroll down to learn more. You’ll find a list of presentations and a variety of free downloads.

Our last Aurora Summit was a huge success! Check back soon! We’ll upload presentations as they become available.

New to Aurora Chasing? View our guide to Night Sky Etiquette!

For more information, email AuroraSummitMN@gmail.com.

Aurora Summit 25 Sessions

• AS25 Photography Bootcamp, led by Marc Rassel
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• “From Auroras to Meteors: Capturing the Night’s Rarest Spectacles,” with Jeff Pfaller (B)
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• Capturing aurora on camera around the world, with Dixie J. Burbank (I)
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• “From Scottish Kilts to Torches & Valhalla: Aurora in Legend,” with Melissa F. Kaelin (B)
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• “Scouting Locations in a Life-Changing Pursuit,” with Zenderfull, aka Samer Hobeika (B)
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• “Stars in My Eyes: Composing and Shooting Powerful Aurora Photos,” with Aubrieta Hope (A)
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• “Space Weather Forecasting 101: How the Sun and Its Phenomena Lead to Aurora and Affect Our Daily Lives,” with Steve Luther (B)
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• “Shooting and Processing Aurora Time-lapse”, with Marc Rassel (A)
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• “What is an Auroral Substorm & How Can You Forecast One?”, with Vincent Ledvina (I)
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• “Dancing Lights and Chasing Dreams: Canadian Stories and Perspectives Under the Aurora”, with C.K. Nights (A)
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• Special Program on History of Solar Storms & Solar Cycle 25, Featuring Bob King, Author of “Magnificent Aurora: Your complete guide to nature’s greatest light show”
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• Special Program, “Aurora Tourism: The North’s Most Unique Lights-Chasing Experiences,” Featuring Stephanie Vermillion, Author of “100 Nights of a Lifetime” from National Geographic
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Aurora Summit 24 Sessions

• AS24 Photography Bootcamp, led by Greg Ash
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• Participatory Science: How Aurora Chasers and Scientists Can Team Up to Discover More
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• Aurora Forecasting for Any Skill Level

• The Photographer of “Spirits Dancing”: An Ojibwe Perspective on the Night Sky,
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• Never Wide Enough! Wide Angle Photography, Gear & Lenses
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• Single Image Creative Aurora, Photography & Camera Settings

• After the Aurora: Enhancing your Night Sky Images in Editing
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• Think bigger! Putting multiple photos into one with Panoramas, Mosaics & Timelapses
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• Advanced Milky Way Editing: A deep dive in to using star trackers and advanced editing techniques for high-detail Milky Way photography
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• SpaceWeatherLive: Making the Most of the Field’’s Best App,

• From Aurora Shots to Composed Astroscapes: Scout, Shoot, Edit

• Aurora Apps: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, an advanced app review

• A Changing Magnetic Field on Earth: Are the Auroras Changing, Too?

• Aurora Everywhere — Planets, Exoplanets and Beyond!

• Sponsored by SpaceWeatherLive, Platinum Sponsor, Founder and Developer Marcel De Bont and Webmaster and Space Weather Analyst Sander Vancanneyt | https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/

Aurora Summit 23 Sessions

• “Northern Lights in Motion: How to Capture Timelapse of the Night Sky” (B), with Vincent Ledvina
• “Can You Hear the Northern Lights? We Look at the Evidence” (B) with Bob King
• “With New Eyes: Discovering the Beauty of the Apostle Islands and its Dark Skies” (B), with Jeff Rennicke, of Friends of the Apostle Islands
• “Catching Aurora on Camera all Year: From Extreme Cold to Chasing the Elusive Summer Aurora” (B), with Jeanine Holowatuik
• “DSO Photography: Learning to Process Deep Sky Objects (DSO) with a Camera and Telescope using Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop” (A), with Christian Harris
• “Native Culture: Introduction to Our Anishinaabe Culture and the Meaning of Place,” (B) with Anna Martineau Merritt
• “Break the Code: A Light-Hearted Visual Guide to Viewing and Photographing the Aurora” (I) with Angela Botner
• Color Channel Masking Guide from “Beyond the Milky Way! Capturing Other Portions of the Night Sky with Tips on Stacking and Blending” (I) with Marybeth Kiczenski
• “Magnetic Flux Ropes: Recognizing their Signature in RTSW and Predicting Aurora Strength” (A) with Christian Harris
• “Solar Flares, CMEs, and the Carrington Event, Oh My!” (I), with Jacob Richards
• “Camera vs. the Human Eye for Aurora Viewing” (B) with Chandresh Kedhambadi
• “Best Practices and Strategies for Answering the Age-Old Question of ‘When Will the Aurora Be Out?’” and Video (B) with Vincent Ledvina

Aurora Summit 22 Sessions

Aurora Summit 21 Sessions

Session I
• Aurora Forecasting with Four Admins (I), with Jess Kowalke, Christian Harris, Amber Nichols, Melissa F. Kaelin
• Camera Settings at Night (B), with Heidi Pinkerton
• Astrotourism: Traveling to See the Light (B), with Dixie Burbank

Session II
• Behind the Scenes with the Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers (I), with Jess Kowalke
• Deepscapes: What to Shoot with a Portable Star Tracker and How to Set One Up (A), with Mike Shaw
• Australis to Borealis: Aurora Legend & Myth around the World (B), with Melissa Kaelin

Session III
• Nights of Red and Green — An In-depth Look at What Causes the Aurora (B), with Bob King
• From Galaxies to Starry Nights I: Acquiring Images with Star Trackers (A), with Marybeth Kiczenski

Session IV
• A Detailed Update on Solar Cycle 25: Where We’re At, Where We Might Go (A), with Christian Harris
• Protecting Our Night Skies: Light Pollution and Prevention (B), with Jeremy Evans
• Basic Equipment for You and Your Camera (B), with Dixie Burbank

Session V
• Astronomy & Astrophotography in our National Parks and Public Lands of the West (I), with Jeremy Evans
• From Galaxies to Starry Nights II: Putting Together What You Captured on Camera (A), with Marybeth Kiczenski
• Nocturnal Sightings: Are UFOs for Real? (B), with Bob King

Session VI
• Illuminating the Dark: From Astrophotography to Light Painting (I), with Jamie Seidel
• Composition: Advanced Techniques to Take Your Night Sky Images to the Next Level (A), with Heidi Pinkerton
• A Fool Proof Formula: How to Catch Your First Northern Lights Display (B), with Melissa Kaelin

[Aurora Summit 20 Postponed]

Aurora Summit 19 Sessions

Slides from the Aurora Summit
• Official Aurora Summit 2019 Presentation

Session I
• Aurora Forecasting for Beginners, with Bob King (B)
• Essentials for Aurora Photography, with Christy Turner (B)
• Shooting the Milky Way, with Mark Ellis (I)
Session II
• Discovering STEVE, with Chris Ratzlaff (B)
• Astrophotography with Equatorial Trackers, with Paul Nelson (I)
• Deep Freeze Photography: Tips for Subzero Shooting, with Amber Nichols (B)
Session III
• Know Your Sky, Know What to Shoot, with Bob King (B)
• Night Sky Composites and Blends: A How-to Guide, with Mike Shaw (A)
• Smartphone Astrophotography, with Christian Harris (B)
Session IV
• Mysteries of the Solar Wind Revealed, with Christian Harris
• Intro to Time Lapse Capture & Editing, with Mark Ellis (I)
• Urban Legends of Space: Astro Science v. Pseudoscience, with Bob King (B)
Session V
• Secrets of the Goddess of the Dawn: Aurora Myth & Legend, with Melissa F. Kaelin (B)
• Deep Sky Photography, with Matthew Moses (A)
• The Light Painting Toolbox, with Roger Feldhans (B)
Session VI
• NASA’s Spectra Lens and the Sub Auroral Arc, with Christy Turner (I)
• Post Processing Night Sky Photos, with Matthew Moses (I)
• Phenomenal Light Painting, with Jamie Rabold (I)
Sunday
• Aurora Chasing Travelogue, with Dixie J. Burbank

Recap: Aurora Summit 18 Sessions

For a full description of past events at the Aurora Summit, visit the Archives.

Session I

  • Basics for Night Sky Photography (B), with Terry Mann
  • From Apps to Kp: Aurora Forecasting for Beginners (B), with Bob King
  • 10 Keys to Gain a Social Media Following (I), with Jerry Thoreson

Session II

Session III

Session IV

  • Deep-Sky with Your D-SLR: Getting the Right Camera Gear (I), with Mike Shaw
  • No Aurora Yet? Camera Techniques to Capture Elusive Light (A), with Terry Mann
  • Establishing an International Dark Sky Park (B), with Mary Stewart Adams

Travelogue

Travelogue Presentation, with Alaska Adventures and Dixie J. Burbank

Panelists, Presenters and Sponsors

Thank you to our incredible panelists, presenters and sponsors! Without you, the Aurora Summit would not be the phenomenal event it has become.

Aurora Summit 21

Aurora Summit 19

  • Keynote Speaker Chris Ratzlaff, Presenter & Panelist, Admin of the Albert Aurora Chasers and Phenomenal STEVE
  • Christy Turner, Presenter & Panelist, Internationally-commissioned Travel and Published Researcher
  • Bob King, Presenter, of Astro Bob’s Astronomy for Everyone and Author of three books including Wonders of the Night Sky You Must See Before You Die and “Urban Legends of Space”
  • Royce Bair, Panelist and Sponsor, Founder of NightScaper
  • Brian Murphy Slattum, Panelist, Founder of Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers
  • Christian Harris, Presenter & Panelist, Founder and Admin of Space Weather Trackers
  • Roger D. Feldhans, Presenter, Light Painter
  • Mark Ellis, Presenter, Photographer
  • Matthew Moses, Presenter, Freelance Photographer
  • Amber Nichols, Presenter, Admin of Frozen Photographers and president of the Duluth Superior Camera Club
  • Paul Nelson, Presenter, Astrophotographer
  • Jamie Rabold, Presenter, Admin of Frozen Photographers
    The panel discussion included:
  • Jackie LaPointe, Panelist, World traveler and night sky photographer
  • Dixie J. Burbank, Travelogue Presenter, Dixie J Digital
  • Melissa F. Kaelin, Presenter, Melissa F. Kaelin Art
  • Mike Shaw, Presenter, Mike Shaw Photography


Aurora Summit 18

Aurora Summit 17

Thanks also to Destination Duluth, Minnesota Exposure, Frozen Photographers,  the Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers and many other groups for their support of our first event!

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

We are grateful for the support of our sponsors, who contributed to make this annual conference even better. Please help us thank these Aurora Summit 19 sponsors by visiting the links!
• NightScaper and the NightScaper Conference
• PlanIt for Photographers
• Root River Photography
• Spencer’s Camera & Photo
• LRTimelapse
• Host Mike Shaw Photography

Sponsors last updated in 2019.

Resources for Presenters

If you are presenting at the Aurora Summit, below are some resources you may find helpful. Please feel free to include the graphic in your PowerPoint and make good use of any other resources you need.

Aurora Summit Logo

Aurora Summit

Location Two Harbors, Minnesota E-mail AuroraSummitMN@gmail.com Hours Annual Event
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