Construction of the North Dakota Dual Aurora Camera (NoDDAC) to Aid in Citizen Science and Space Weather Applications

Abstract:

The North Dakota Dual Aurora Camera (NoDDAC) is a student-led project operated in conjunction with the University of North Dakota (UND), local astronomy groups, the LiveAuroraNetwork, and Aurorasaurus citizen science. Aurora cameras are valuable tools for avid skywatchers, aurora chasers, and scientists. Globally, hundreds of cameras provide views of the aurora, serving as ground-truth visual data to gauge auroral activity, yet at mid-latitudes, these facilities are few in number. Deploying aurora cameras in these areas provides a valuable resource for astronomy and aurora-watching communities, but also demonstrates scientific merit as the analysis of transient phenomena, such as STEVEs, benefit from multiple geographic observations. What makes this project unique is the student initiative being based at a university observatory, the focus on dual cameras with COTS equipment and low resource computing, and, the emphasis on open data, a responsive community resource, and citizen science. NoDDAC employs the Sony a7s ii camera and Sony 24mm f1.4GM lens as a north-facing aurora video camera. A less expensive all-sky Canon T6 camera paired with Rokinon 8mm f2.8 fisheye lens continuously captures images. The cameras are stationed at UND’s Martens Observatory (48.1^oN). Specialized housings from the LiveAuroraNetwork weatherproof both cameras and proprietary IPTimelapse software allows images to be uploaded to a web server and analyzed. The LiveAuroraNetwork hosts the image streams from both cameras on their website and mobile app. When aurora is detected by the IPTimelapse software, the NoDDAC twitter account posts a short clip of the display to alert aurora chasers. These cameras are shown on the Aurorasaurus auroral oval map along with other citizen scientist observations. Image data are archived and made open source, abiding by the FAIR data use principles. Because the north-facing camera records video, studying small auroral features will be useful for citizen science efforts like Zooniverse’s AuroraZoo. NoDDAC serves as a vital resource for aurora chasers and enables a growing technology-driven movement of aurora citizen science. This presentation will present first-light results, design choices, and collaboration opportunities in development with other traditional and non-traditional data sources.