Watch the Aurora Borealis Live via Webcam

By Nancy Atkinson - September 21, 2010 at 7:51 AM UTC | Observing
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If you've even seen the Aurora Borealis live, you know how awe-inspiring it can be. But if you live too far south, or aren't a night owl, there's now a way for to you see the

aurora

, via the web, every night. Last night was the world premier of

AuroraMAX

– an online observatory which began streaming Canada's northern lights live over the Internet. "Armchair skywatchers everywhere can now discover the wonder of the northern lights live on their home computer screen," says Canadian Space Agency President Steve MacLean. "We hope that watching the dance of the northern lights will make you curious about the science of the sky and the relationship we have with our own star, the Sun."

In addition to nightly broadcasts of the aurora,

AuroraMAX

will help demystify the science behind the phenomenon, offer tips for seeing and photographing auroras, and highlight Canadian research on the Sun-Earth relationship. The website will also include an image gallery with still photos and movies from previous nights.

Auroras occur as charged particles from the Sun collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere. The launch of

AuroraMAX

coincides with the beginning of aurora season in northern Canada, which generally begins in late August or early September and ends in May. Aurora enthusiasts will be able to follow AuroraMAX through solar maximum, the most active period of the Sun's 11-year cycle, which should produce more frequent and intense auroras on Earth. Solar maximum is currently expected in 2013.

AuroraMAX is a collaborative public engagement initiative between the CSA, the University of Calgary, the City of Yellowknife and

Astronomy North.

You can get updates from AuroraMAX via Twitter.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com