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.

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

NEW! View our guide to Night Sky Etiquette!

For more information, email AuroraSummitMN@gmail.com.

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

Essential Software and Apps for Aurora Chasers and Photographers (B), with Michael Jordan
Aurora Culture and Mythology (B), with Jim Rock
The Juno Mission and Jupiter’s Aurora (B), with Dave Falkner

Session III

Aurora Borealis: A Photographer’s Guide to Geomagnetic Midnight (I), with Michael Jordan
Meet STEVE: The Aurora Getting All the Attention (I), with Bob King
Aurora from Satellites Above and Photographers Below (I), with Margaret Mooney

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

Keynote Speaker Marybeth Kiczenski, Adventure Photographer & Writer
Bob King, Author & Photojournalist at AstroBob
Jess Kowalke, Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers Admin
Christian Harris, Founder of Space Weather Trackers
Jamie Seidel, Photographer, Light Painter & Founder & Admin of Stars, Star Trails and Timelapses
Heidi Pinkerton, Professional Photographer at Root River Photography
Mike Shaw, Host, Co-founder, Author and Night Sky Professor
Dixie J. Burbank, Co-founder, Astrotourism Guide and Great Lakes Aurora Shooters Admin
Melissa F. Kaelin, Co-founder, Writer, NASA Social Media Ambassador and Founder & Admin of Michigan Aurora Chasers

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

Keynote Speaker Mary Stewart Adams, Presenter, Host of The Storyteller’s Night Sky and Founder of Headlands International Dark Sky Park
Dave Falkner, Presenter, NASA Solar System Ambassador
Michael Jordon, Presenter, Pilgrimage Photography
Bob Kelley, Presenter and Panelist, Retired Planetarium Director of Scobee Planetarium
Bob King, Presenter and Panelist, of Astro Bob’s Astronomy for Everyone and Author of Wonders of the Night Sky You Must See Before You Die
Terry Mann, Presenter and Panelist, Dark Sky Activist and Photographer at ElusiveLightImages.com
Margaret Mooney, Presenter, of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)
Jim Rock, Presenter, Program Director at the Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium
Jerry Thoreson, Presenter, of Destination Duluth
Jessica Kowalke, Panelist, Admin of Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers
Dixie J. Burbank, Travelogue Presenter, Dixie J Digital

Aurora Summit 17

Keynote Speaker Bob King, of Astro Bob’s Astronomy for Everyone
Author of Night Sky With the Naked Eye
Heidi Pinkerton, Presenter and Sponsor, Root River Photography
Matthew Moses, Presenter, Matthew Moses Photography
Jamie Rabold, Presenter, Admin of Frozen Photographers, Willowmaker Images
Amber Nichols, Presenter, Amber’s Impressions Photography
Kirk Schleife, Presenter
Les Conrad, Presenter, Les Conrad Photography
Melissa F. Kaelin, Presenter and Panelist, Melissa F. Kaelin Art
Bob Conzemius, Presenter and Panelist, TornadoBob.com
Dixie J. Burbank, Travelogue Presenter, Dixie J Digital
Mike Shaw, Presenter, Mike Shaw Photography
Author of The Complete Guide to Landscape Astrophotography
Richard Hoeg, Panelist, 365 Days of Birds,
Admin of Northern Lights | Lake Superior Region
Bonnie Tiedt, Panelist
Michael Jordan, Panelist, Pilgrimage Photography

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.