VIN&VITEN | 100 Years of Aurora Research – from Kristian Birkeland to the Present Day

The aurora is one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena, with its various colours, shapes and movements. At the same time, it is more than a beautiful display in the night sky, it provides important insight into solar activity and changes in the near-Earth space environment – what we often refer to as space weather.

What actually causes the aurora? At what altitude in the atmosphere does it occur? And what factors determine variations in auroral activity? These questions have been central to aurora research for more than a hundred years.

In this lecture, we follow the development of aurora research from the early scientific debates and Kristian Birkeland’s pioneering ideas to present-day research. The presentation will also discuss how the study of the aurora has been crucial to our understanding of the relationship between solar activity, Earth’s magnetic field and space weather.

Andreas Kvammen received his PhD in space physics in 2021 and is currently a researcher in the space physics group at the Department of Physics and Technology at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. His work includes aurora research, space weather forecasting, machine learning and atmospheric physics.

The lecture will be held in English, and there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion after the lecture.

The event is a part of the “Wednesday at the museum” series, featuring extended evening hours and monthly events. The same evening, you can for instance visit the exhibition UNDER THE LIGHTS and join the CREATIVE WORKSHOP | Watercolour painting: Northern Lights at 5-7 pm.

TIME Wednesday April 15 at 7PM-8.30PM (The museum is open from 10am)
PLACE The Arctic University Museum of Norway, Lars Thøringsveg 10
ENTRANCE Adults NOK 130,- / senior citizens and students NOK 100,- / UiT-students, children and youth under 18 years have free entrance. The ticket provides access to the entire museum from 10 AM to 9 PM on the same day.

Do you visit the museum often? A Museum Pass (NOK 500) gives free admission for one year for you and one guest of your choice (you can bring a new guest for each visit, of you would like). The Museum Pass is valid for one year at the Arctic University Museum of Norway, the Polar Museum, and MS Polstjerna (open during the summer months).