Liz MacDonald Featured in Global Women in Science
Liz MacDonald Featured in Global Women in Science
Congratulations to Dr. Liz MacDonald, who was recently featured in Global Women in Science for her outstanding contributions to space physics, citizen science, and public science engagement.
Dr. MacDonald is a scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and an affiliate of the New Mexico Consortium. For nearly 25 years, she has studied the northern lights, also known as the aurora, working to better understand the processes that create these beautiful and dynamic displays in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Throughout her career as a physicist, Dr. MacDonald has been deeply committed to citizen science, outreach, and education. In addition to her research, she has helped lead teams that developed instruments for NASA and U.S. Department of Energy satellite and rocket missions. These instruments are designed to measure charged particles in space, providing important data about Earth’s space environment and the processes that drive auroral activity.
Dr. MacDonald is also the founder of the Aurorasaurus project, a free citizen science platform that tracks aurora sightings in real time. Through the Aurorasaurus website and app, as well as reports shared through social media, people around the world can submit aurora observations. The platform then maps the location and time of those sightings, helping researchers, aurora chasers, and the public follow auroral activity as it happens.
Aurorasaurus has become a highly successful example of how citizen science can contribute to scientific discovery. By combining observations from the public with scientific data, the project helps improve understanding of auroras and strengthens connections between researchers and communities around the globe.
One of the most exciting outcomes of this collaborative approach was the discovery of a new aurora-like phenomenon known as STEVE, short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. With the help of aurora hunters, citizen scientists, and other researchers, Dr. MacDonald and her collaborators helped identify and study this unusual atmospheric feature.
STEVE appears as a narrow, elongated purple arc in the sky and is sometimes accompanied by green structures that resemble a picket fence. Its discovery demonstrates the power of public participation in science and shows how observations from dedicated citizen scientists can lead to important new research questions and discoveries.
Dr. MacDonald’s feature in Global Women in Science recognizes not only her scientific achievements, but also her leadership in making science more accessible, collaborative, and engaging. Her work continues to inspire students, researchers, educators, and aurora enthusiasts around the world.
Read the entire article about Dr. Liz MacDonald and other amazing scientists in: Global Woman in Science.
Read more about Dr. MacDonald’s work in the Quanta Magazine article: The Scientist Leading the World’s Aurora Hunters.
Photo by Rosem Morton