@conference {398, title = {Construction of an Aurora Camera in North Dakota to Aid in Citizen Science and Space Weather Applications (ePoster)}, booktitle = {HamSCI Workshop 2020}, year = {2020}, month = {03/2020}, publisher = {HamSCI}, organization = {HamSCI}, address = {Scranton, PA}, abstract = {

We will present plans for a new student-built aurora camera integrated with a public university, local astronomy groups, and Aurorasaurus citizen science. Live aurora cameras are crucial tools for avid skywatchers, aurora chasers, and scientists.\ \ Globally there are hundreds of cameras providing nowcast views of aurora strength, yet in low-latitude areas, especially in the United States, the number of high-quality, live aurora cameras is extremely limited.\ \ The need for aurora camera coverage in mid-latitudes is apparent; not only will it be another resource for amateur astronomers and aurora-watching communities, but the analysis of many transient auroral phenomena such as substorms and STEVEs benefit from multiple geographical observations.\ \ A north-facing camera will be built near Inkster, North Dakota, on the Martens Observatory location (approximately 48.1oN), broadcasting a public live stream of the night sky while simultaneously offloading images to a storage server.\ \ The Sony a7s2 mirrorless camera, a model employed by other live broadcasts such as the LiveAuroraNetwork, will be used in conjunction with a wide-aperture lens for maximum light-gathering ability.\ \  The entire apparatus will be housed in a weatherproof enclosure and internet will be supplied on-site.\ \ The camera will be integrated with the University of North Dakota{\textquoteright}s Astrophysics and Space Studies department and will be a resource for the local astronomy community, the Northern Sky Astronomical Society.\ \ Working with Aurorasaurus, the aurora camera will {\textquotedblleft}tweet{\textquotedblright} when an aurora is spotted and be shown on the Aurorasaurus auroral oval map along with other citizen scientist observations.\ \ This aurora camera will be a valuable resource for citizen science and will aid scientists in attempting to unravel the mysteries of Earth{\textquoteright}s magnetism.

}, author = {Vincent Ledvina and Elizabeth MacDonald and Wayne Barkhouse and Timothy Young} }