Liz MacDonald Presents on Atmospheric Phenomena

Liz MacDonald Presents on Atmospheric Phenomena

Dr. Liz MacDonald has been giving various presentations this fall on her research on the aurora borealis and the atmospheric phenomena known as STEVE. She was grateful for an invitation through collaboration with Indigenous Scholar and Aurorasaurus Ambassador Dr. Juan Carlos Chavez to attend Tipis and Telescopes 2022, held at the University of Calgary’s Biogeoscience Institute at Barrier Lake Field Station in Kananaskis Country, Alberta.

This event, held September 23-25, 2022, is a gathering of Indigenous knowledge holders and cultures, sharing stories and knowledge about the stars, ceremony, science and community. Attendees listened to star stories while gazing at the Milky Way under the dark of a new moon, from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and NASA scientists.

Dr. MacDonald next visited the University of Calgary, home base for AuroraX the world’s first and foremost data platform for auroral science, as well as the home base of many of Dr. MacDonald’s colleagues who study STEVE. After giving a presentation to a class of graduate students about NASA, she then was able to connect with the Alberta Aurora Chasers group, along with Aurorasaurus Ambassador Chandresh Kedhambadhi and aurora chaser John Anderson. You can watch their presentation here.  Afterward, she had the opportunity to do some aurora chasing, herself.

Of her trip, Dr. MacDonald commented, “It was great to have the opportunity to return to Canada as the solar cycle picks up, meet new people and old friends, deepen community, and form new relationships. It was also particularly meaningful to learn more about the sacred relationships people have had with the Sun, Moon, and Earth since time immemorial, and I am grateful.”

The Aurorasaurus Project is supported by the New Mexico Consortium.