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We have now selected the competition winners of the SolarMaX mission!
We have now selected the competition winners of the SolarMaX mission!
We received so many amazing submissions for the SolarMaX mission competition and would like to thank each and every person for taking the time to submit their observations to Skywarden! This database will help us with aurora research, which would not be possible without your submissions.
For the 5 main space prizes, we prioritized photos capturing more unusual aurora types as this was the main scientific goal of the mission. As our research will now include the entire mission window, with additional case studies for times when Fram2 was flying overhead, we have selected photos from any time during the mission as long as they mentioned SolarMaX mission or Fram2 in their observation story. Runner-up's were also selected for a prize bundle!
Space Prize Winners
Space Prize Winners
Each of these winners will receive:
A print of the Fram2 astronauts that has been to space - signed by each of the 4 astronauts!
A limited edition printed copy of the Aurora Field Guide
A Fram2 mission patch
A tote bag from The University Centre in Svalbard
STEVE
STEVE
Winner: Tommy Lågland
Winner: Tommy Lågland
Location: Finland
Location: Finland
This image shows a purple band of emission stretching across the sky, close to the moon. Also caught by some other members in Finland, we have multiple different angles of this arc, which appears to be STEVE!
We loved the fish eye perspective here, capturing STEVE and the diffuse green auroral emission close to it, as well as some more active arcs, a sunset and some trees!
IPA Blobs
IPA Blobs
Winner: Katie Raymer-Woods
Winner: Katie Raymer-Woods
Location: UK
Location: UK
During SolarMaX, the UK was treated to some spectacular aurora and also some weird aurora! We had many reports of Isolation Proton Aurora (IPA) blobs, that observers noticed pulsing overhead in timelapses and even security webcams!
We selected this photo as the winner as the wide angle gives us a great overview of the green blobs and their surrounding aurora.
Picket Fence
Picket Fence
Winner: Patrick Grubba
Winner: Patrick Grubba
Location: USA
Location: USA
You might have to get a little closer to your screen to spot this one, but Patrick didn't miss the small green picket fence in his image!
We selected this image because small structures like this are very important to our research and often difficult to catch on camera!
Enhanced Aurora
Enhanced Aurora
Winner: Donna Lach
Winner: Donna Lach
Location: Canada
Location: Canada
Sometimes the bottom edge of the aurora is much brighter - this is known as enhanced aurora and definitely falls into the weird aurora category!
We selected this image since there is still much to research about enhanced aurora - we also saw a lot of enhanced aurora from Shetland, UK during SolarMaX!
Sar Arc
Sar Arc
Winner: Pirjo Koski & Riku Poskiparta
Winner: Pirjo Koski & Riku Poskiparta
Location: Finland
Location: Finland
Weird aurora can also be quite faint. The red arc to the left and above the moon here is a SAR arc, a hot topic in research.
We selected this image as it shows the SAR arc with the surrounding aurora also also stunning nature and scenery!
Runner-Up Photo Winners
Runner-Up Photo Winners
Each of the runner-ups will receive:
A signed print of Fram2 Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen in space looking down on Earth from the dragon cupola
A limited edition printed copy of the Aurora Field Guide
A Fram2 mission patch
A tote bag from The University Centre in Svalbard
Aurora Cityscape Nikolaj Bugge Erstad, NO
Aurora Cityscape Nikolaj Bugge Erstad, NO
Outdoor Enthusiast Poul Flyholm Jensen, GL
Outdoor Enthusiast Poul Flyholm Jensen, GL
Science Prizes
Science Prizes
Each science prize winner will receive:
A signed print of Fram2 Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen in space looking down on Earth from the dragon cupola
A limited edition printed copy of the Aurora Field Guide
A Fram2 mission patch
A tote bag from The University Centre in Svalbard
Neumayer Station (German Antarctic Base)
Neumayer Station (German Antarctic Base)
The AWI Neumayer team went to great efforts for SolarMaX! They set up their all-sky images on a high resolution mode and provided near real time data to help us in our aurora predictions. They watched Fram2 fly directly over them during incredible aurora. Thank you Neumayer!
Arto Oksanen, FI
Arto Oksanen, FI
Arto tuned the Hankasalmi observatory all-sky image format, annotation, rotation etc and made it all available to us at the speed of light and according to our wishes and preferences.
The aurora beads, seen as green breaking waves in the aurora at the top of the image, were spotted by many Finns who submitted to skywarden independently of the SolarMaX mission. This is a really cool dataset for an aurora beads researcher! Thank you for your efforts Arto!
Science Communicator Prizes
Science Communicator Prizes
Each science communicator prize winner will receive:
A signed print of Fram2 Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen in space looking down on Earth from the dragon cupola
A limited edition printed copy of the Aurora Field Guide
A Fram2 mission patch
A tote bag from The University Centre in Svalbard
There were many, many people who fell into this category helping spread the word of SolarMaX through social media to their aurora communities, monitor aurora in real time, and explain why it was important to submit images to Skywarden for researchers. Unfortunately, we can't recognize everyone with a prize but we appreciate all of your efforts!
The winners are...
The winners are...
Veronica Danielsen For a superb interview with Norwegian TV2 promoting SolarMaX and for acting as a connection to the Nordlysvarsel community!
Calle Rosenqvist For a great article promoting SolarMaX in Sweden and for acting as a connection to the Norrsken community!
Melissa Kaelin For arranging an observation night (even if the weather cancelled it!) and for acting as a connection to the Michigan Aurora Chasers!
Glenn Wheatley For showing huge efforts in communicating before, during and after the mission through the Northern Lights-UK community!
Tanya Melnik For excellent space weather analysis and predictions throughout the mission and your ties to the UMAC community!
Thank you again!
Thank you again!
To everyone involved in the SolarMaX mission, both to those in space and all over the world on the ground!
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