Speaker
Description
The aurora borealis and aurora australis have been sources of inspiration, interest, and mystery to humans since ancient times. Due to recent advances in technology and space weather awareness, this “once in a lifetime” phenomenon has gained a wider reach. Major geomagnetic storms of 2023 and 2024 provided an initial experience with space weather effects for people who had not seen aurora before. Curiosity prompted many of them to search for more information on the aurora. In fact, the May 2024 Gannon Storm boosted Google searches of “northern lights” to an all-time high. Many publications on space weather are not geared towards the general public and tend to be written in professional language with heavy use of jargon. Some of these resources may not be accessible outside of academia or space weather operations. As a result, mass media, social media, websites, and blogs became the primary sources of space weather news and space weather science. Information shared through these sources are not always written in collaboration with space weather professionals, and it is not uncommon to see space weather presented in inaccurate or even catastrophizing ways. This can increase disappointment, mistrust in science, and even fear of space weather events. “Space Weather Unplugged” was started as a grassroots project by aurora chasers with the aim to address existing gaps in space weather education for the general public. It is run by three space weather enthusiasts with space weather education from Millersville University and a passion for science communication. The project is unique in its focus on recent events, which are traced from their origin on the Sun to their impacts on Earth. Short, informal educational videos in the format of conversation between session hosts and a brief review of relevant scientific information are streamed live on YouTube and posted on a weekly basis. Learner feedback occurs both formally with posted surveys, as well as informally with questions posted in live chat and comments for the posts/recorded sessions. Additional reading in relevant scientific publications is suggested for learners. In addition to weekly short videos, the group hosts monthly featured talks by academic and operational space weather professionals. These presentations focus on topics of interest in greater detail, such as the impacts of space weather events on important industries like precision farming and power grid operations. The general public’s increased interest in aurora provides a perfect opportunity for broader space weather and science communication. We will provide an overview of this effort and share our experience with this outreach mechanism, as well as analysis of audience engagement.
| Do you plan to attend in-person or online? | In-person |
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