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Poster Short Abstract

Citizen science has long traditions in geophysics that go back to 1846. The development of technology has opened new possibilities both in communicating and running observation campaigns. We’ve moved from letter in horseback into an era of digital communication and collaborative databases.

Poster Abstract

The mechanism behind the formation of the Northern Lights remained a mystery for most of the 19th century. There were few instruments available to observe their formation and occurrence. Multiple observers across the country could gather information of aurora displays reliably by-passing local cloud covers.

In the 19th century, in a society largely based on agriculture, the people’s ability to write was still limited. Thus, personnel from parsonages and sea captains were regarded as capable observers. Through letter campaigns, more accurate statistics on the occurrence of the Northern Lights could be obtained. Interpreting the non-homogeneous observation data was considered time-consuming.

In the 20th century, technological advancements brought new communication methods within reach of more people. Mail was delivered faster by car, and having a radio receiver in the corner of the home was no longer uncommon. Radio also gave households the opportunity to set the time precisely.

During the International Geophysical Year (1957–1959), numerous research organizations in different countries launched observation campaigns targeting especially members of astronomical societies, radio amateurs, and pilots.

Gradually, from the 1950s onward, film cameras became more common in homes, and even hobbyists well-versed in photography could capture auroras. It wasn’t until the spread of digital cameras in the 2000s that a true golden age of photographing natural phenomena began.

The rise of the internet in the late 1990s accelerated the sharing of observation data, and today, several digital observation databases are already in use. In Finland, Taivaanvahti/Skywarden -site modernized the collection of aurora observations.