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 22 Sessions
- “The Fundamentals of Aurora Photography,” (B) with Jeanine Holowatuik
- “What Is the Aurora, How Does it Happen and When Should I Look?” (B) with Bob King
- “W.O.W. (Way Out in Washington): Aurora Chasing in the Pacific Northwest”, (B) with Steve Luther
- “Taking Your Images Further: Using blending and tracking to create beautiful high definition photos,” (I) Marybeth Kiczenski
- “Voyager and the Heliosphere,” (B) Dave Falkner
- “From Northern Lights Newbie to Aurora Addict: My Journey and Roadmap to Successfully Capturing the Beautiful Borealis,” (B) Steve Luther
- “How to Use a Star Tracker and What You Can Do,” (A) Melonie Elvebak
- “The Parker Solar Probe, the Solar Orbiter and Space Weather Reporting,” (I) John ONeal NC Stargazer
- “Native Culture: Introduction to Our Anishinaabe Culture and the Meaning of Place,” (B) Anna Martineau Merritt
- “The Sun-Earth Connection: The Science and Processes behind the Northern Lights” (A)
Vincent Ledvina - “Upcoming Celestial Events You Don’t Want to Miss,” (B) Bob King
- “Color in Lights: Chasing the Aurora Colorblind,” (I) Justin Anderson
- Aurora Chasing Travelogue, with Dixie J. Burbank
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.