Dr Ian Griffin has taken more than 300,000 photographs and has seen some amazing displays in just over four years of chasing the southern lights. Photo/Dr Ian Griffin - Otago Museum.
Dr Ian Griffin has taken more than 300,000 photographs and has seen some amazing displays in just over four years of chasing the southern lights. Photo/Dr Ian Griffin - Otago Museum.
If you have ever dreamt of witnessing or photographing the southern lights, now is your chance to find out how.
Dr Ian Griffin will be sharing his experiences as an aurora chaser in Southern New Zealand at an event in Tauranga next week.
The Tauranga Astronomical Society is hosting thelecture at the Fergusson Park Observatory Hall in Matua on Tuesday at 7.30pm.
Dr Griffin is the director of the Otago Museum and Planetarium and has a PhD in astronomy.
He told the Bay of Plenty Times that on Tuesday night he will also be sharing his experiences of flying on Nasa's airborne SOFIA Observatory last year, when, in a 10-hour flight out of Christchurch, he got to see the aurora as they flew south of New Zealand.
"The experience inspired me so much that I decided to charter an Air New Zealand plane and as a result, in March of this year we flew the first ever flight from Dunedin to view the aurora australis."
Dr Ian Griffin flew on NASA's airborne SOFIA Observatory last year and got to see the aurora as they flew south of New Zealand. Photo/Dr Ian Griffin - Otago Museum.
Dr Griffin said he has taken more than 300,000 photographs and has seen some amazing displays in just over four years of chasing the natural light spectacle.
Dr Ian Griffin will be sharing his experiences as an aurora chaser in Southern New Zealand at an event in Tauranga next week. Photo/Dr Ian Griffin - Otago Museum.
An aurora happens when charged particles from the sun interact with atoms in the upper atmosphere.
"In the talk, I will share advice about how to spot and photograph the aurora," Dr Griffin said.
"Since arriving in Dunedin in May 2013, I've become a passionate chaser of the southern lights, which can be seen surprisingly often from here in Southern New Zealand."
He won the Prime Minister's Science Media Communication Prize in 2015 and has discovered 26 asteroids.
Dr Griffin has held lead positions in science engagement in the United Kingdom and the United States, including being head of Hubble Telescope Public Outreach and director of Nasa Origins Education Forum.
He also spent time as chief executive of Auckland Stardome Observatory.
The event is at the Observatory Hall, Fergusson Park, Matua, Tauranga, on Tuesday at 7.30pm. Admission is $5 for visitors and free for members.
