@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 = {<p>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.\&nbsp;\&nbsp;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.\&nbsp;\&nbsp;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.\&nbsp;\&nbsp;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.\&nbsp;\&nbsp;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.\&nbsp;\&nbsp; The entire apparatus will be housed in a weatherproof enclosure and internet will be supplied on-site.\&nbsp;\&nbsp;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.\&nbsp;\&nbsp;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.\&nbsp;\&nbsp;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.</p>
},
	author = {Vincent Ledvina and Elizabeth MacDonald and Wayne Barkhouse and Timothy Young}
}
