Aurora Summit

Aurora Summit: Celebrating the Art, Folklore, Science, and Photography of the Aurora Borealis. All are welcome to attend!

This event brings Aurora enthusiasts together each year for a weekend workshop in the U.S. Welcome to the Aurora Summit: Celebrating the Art, Folklore, Science, and Photography of the Aurora Borealis! Each year, this event brings Aurora enthusiasts in the mid-latitudes together for a weekend workshop in Minnesota.

07/07/2026

Become part of the adventure! You're invited to Aurora Summit 26: Celebrating the Art, Culture, Science and Photography of the Aurora! This international convention is coming to Houghton, Michigan, USA, on November 6-8, 2026, with an optional pre-conference program AS26 Photography Bootcamp on Friday to get dialed in for a weekend of night photography.

9th Annual Aurora Summit: Featuring Keynote Speaker Joe Buffalo Child
November 6-8, 2026
BONFIRE! at the Continental Fire Company
Houghton, Michigan, USA
Register by Oct. 1: TheAuroraSummit.com

The 9th Annual Aurora Summit brings Aurora Chasers together every year for a weekend convention in the USA, as we chase the Northern Lights and teach you everything you need to know to capture it on your own! We will present panel discussions, hands-on night photography clinics, educational sessions, a group chase, trivia, raffle prizes and the Grand Prize — a free ground-trip* to Alaska to chase the Northern Lights in March 2027!!

On Saturday night, we will feature YOUR submitted Aurora photos on the big screen during the Aurora Summit Banquet, and listen to the tales of Indigenous Dene Aurora Chaser Joe Buffalo Child, a tour guide and CEO from Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories.

We are proud to present many new and returning Aurora Chasing all-stars! Aurora Summit 26 will feature these presenters:
• “Clouds! Using Aviation Forecasts to Predict Clear Skies,” with Pilot Andy Berry
• “Cultural Beliefs Concerning Aurora Borealis,” with Lifelong Aurora Chaser Alan Atwood
• “iPhone Night Photography; Equipment, Tips and Tricks,” with Michigan Aurora Chasers Admin Patrick Grubba
• “Auroral Citizen Science – A fulfilling add-on for aurora photographers,” with Donna Lach, co-author of the Aurora Field Guide from the ARCTICS Team
• “Beyond the Forecast: Making the Most of an Aurora Chase,” including forecasting, with Author Thomas Oliver
• “Capturing Real-Time Video and Timelapse of the Northern Lights,” with The Aurora Guy Vincent Ledvina
• “Aurora Apps: Data at Your Fingertips,” with Space Weather Unplugged Co-Host Tanya Melnik
• “Aurora Photography – Capturing the Auroras with Manual Camera Settings,” with Professional Photographer Paul Schneider
• “Foregrounds, the Foreplay of Aurora Photography: How to Find Better Places to Do It,” with Northern Lights of Wisconsin Admin Richard Montano
• “Further South Than You Think: Mid-latitude Aurora Forecasting and Chasing in Substorms (For Beginners!),” with Pennsylvania Aurora Chaser Jeremy Cruz
As well as interactive panel discussions:
• Friday Night Panel, moderated by Co-Founder & Author Melissa Kaelin: Chase the Aurora — Answers to every question under the Sun, with moderator and audience questions!
• Saturday Panel, moderated by Co-Founder & Tour Guide Dixie Burbank: Epic Failures! Humorous and Humbling Stories from the Chase

You'll discover these topics and many more, while developing masterful skills in Aurora photography, timelapse and forecasting! The program may be subject to change.

Join us! The Aurora Summit is open to the public, and it is not affiliated with any group. Registration includes all meals when you stay at the host hotel, The Hampton Inn & Suites. Details on our website.

Sign up: TheAuroraSummit.com

Photo by Dixie J. Burbank. *Must be present on Sunday at noon to win! Some conditions apply. See less

06/10/2026

Meet Our Presenters! At Aurora Summit 26, we're excited to bring you a new line-up of speakers and topics! After years of dedicating time and energy to helping people catch the Aurora, we're proud to welcome Jeremy Cruz from the East Coast!

A Pennsylvania native, Jeremy Cruz went to the University of Connecticut to study Wildlife and Fisheries Science and Digital Media and Design. Nature and media are his passion. He is a Moderator and Group Expert for the PA Northern Lights & Astrophotography group. He was introduced to Aurora during the April 23rd, 2023 geomagnetic storm, and he has been obsessed with it ever since.

Since then, he has traveled to 14 different U.S. States & Canadian Provinces to catch the Northern Lights, and his is closing in on 100 aurora captures since 2023. As much as he loves seeing Aurora, he loves helping other people see it even more.

View more of his work: https://www.instagram.com/the_aurora_chaser
Register for the Aurora Summit: TheAuroraSummit.com

06/09/2026

Featuring a photograph by Co-Founder Dixie J. Burbank, get an early look at the line-up for presentations! You are going to love this line-up. On top of our Keynote Speaker, the 9th Annual Aurora Summitwill cover photography, forecasting, culture and more!

• “Clouds! Using Aviation Forecasts to Predict Clear Skies,” with Pilot Andy Berry
• “Cultural Beliefs Concerning Aurora Borealis,” with Lifelong Aurora Chaser Alan Atwood
• “iPhone Night Photography; Equipment, Tips and Tricks,” with Michigan Aurora Chasers Admin Patrick Grubba
• “Auroral Citizen Science – A fulfilling add-on for aurora photographers,” with Donna Lach, co-author of the Aurora Field Guide from the ARCTICS Team
• “Beyond the Forecast: Intentional Aurora Experiences that Turn Uncertainty into Clarity and Purpose,” with Author Thomas Oliver
• “Capturing Real-Time Video and Timelapse of the Northern Lights,” with The Aurora Guy Vincent Ledvina
• “Aurora Apps: Data at Your Fingertips,” with Space Weather Unplugged Co-Host Tanya Melnik
• “Aurora Photography – Capturing the Auroras with Manual Camera Settings,” with Professional Photographer Paul Schneider
• “Foregrounds, the Foreplay of Aurora Photography: How to Find Better Places to Do It,” with Northern Lights of Wisconsin Admin Richard Montano
• “Further South Than You Think: Mid-latitude Aurora Forecasting and Chasing in Substorms (For Beginners!),” with Pennsylvania Aurora Chaser Jeremy Cruz
• Friday Night Panel, moderated by Co-Founder & Author Melissa Kaelin: Chase the Aurora — Answers to every question under the Sun, with moderator and audience questions (and Moon)!
• Saturday Panel, moderated by Co-Founder & Tour Guide Dixie Burbank: Epic Failures! Humorous and Humbling Stories from the Chase

The program is subject to change as we put the finishing touch on presentation titles, but you'll hear about these topics and more!

Details: TheAuroraSummit.com

06/05/2026

Meet Our Presenters! At the 9th Annual Aurora Summit, we're proud to bring you a new line-up of talented presenters and topics. Ranked the #1 Aurora Chaser on the Glendale App in 2024, Patrick Grubba is a master of night sky photography on devices large and small.

Patrick is one of the leaders of the Michigan Aurora Chasers, a group that helps thousands of people catch the Northern Lights in Michigan and surrounding areas. Residing in the Mackinaw City area, he is famous for his call to “Get Outside Now,” which has helped people across the country catch the Aurora, as well as chasers in other countries like Scotland! He has discovered a love for astrophotography, and he presents and volunteers as an astronomer at the Headlands International Dark Sky Park. He also serves as President of the Board of the Mackinaw City Area Arts Council.

Patrick has been published in Amateur Astronomer Magazine, Thrillist, and Stars and Space Magazine (Finland). His work also has been showcased at the Longway Planetarium in Flint and Delta College Planetarium in Bay City. He made contributions to the historic SpaceX SolarMax Mission which sent humans to orbit the poles for the first time aboard Fram2, in an effort to study the Aurora. Patrick’s focus lies in appreciating the marvels of nature that surround us, as he documents his unique perspective of the world.

Learn more: MichiganAuroraChasers.com/patrick-grubba

Register by Oct. 1: TheAuroraSummit.com

06/03/2026

Meet Our Presenters! When Aurora Summit 26 comes to Houghton, Michigan in November, we'll be bringing you a new line-up of talented presenters and topics. With a unique vantage point on finding fantastic foregrounds, we're excited to welcome Presenter Richard Montano to the 9th Annual Aurora Summitt!

Richard is a talented photographer, astronomy outreach volunteer, and Admin of the Northern Lights of Wisconsin group. He discovered his passion for the night sky after seeing and photographing his first Aurora in March 2023. What started with a simple phone camera quickly grew into a full creative obsession. In 2024, he transitioned to a real camera, and since then he has taken every opportunity to experiment with new, bold, and funky techniques for capturing the Aurora. A lively speaker, his work is driven by curiosity, play, and a constant desire to find unique ways to frame one of nature’s most captivating phenomena.

View more from Richard Montano Photography : https://www.facebook.com/Richard.Montano.Photography/
Registration opens June 4th: TheAuroraSummit.com

06/02/2026

Meet Our Presenters! At the 9th Annual Aurora Summit, we're proud to bring you a new line-up of talented presenters and topics. Guiding you through the rare Aurora shapes and structures in the night sky, we're thrilled to welcome Presenter Donna Lach to Aurora Summit 26!

Donna is an aurora photographer from Manitoba, Canada, who participates in auroral research as a citizen scientist. She has been actively involved since 2019 when she first became an ambassador for the NASA project known as Aurorasaurus. Her work and auroral observations have caught the attention of researchers and media publications around the world.

Other projects Donna has worked on include a working group sponsored by the International Space Science Institute – Bern, Switzerland, the SolarMaX Mission to study Aurora from a human spaceflight and from Earth, S.T.E.V.E. Workshops, AurorEye portable all-sky camera, and reporting aurora observations to Skywarden-Finland and Aurorasaurus. She also served on the A.R.C.T.I.C.S. team to help create the "Aurora Field Guide for Citizen Science," an illustrated guide that explains Aurora forms and features many of Donna's stunning photographs. She will walk us through her journey as a citizen scientist and show us the beauty of the aurora that she has captured through her cameras.

View more: www.donnalach.weebly.com
Registration opens June 4th: TheAuroraSummit.com

04/04/2026

Announcing Our 2026 Keynote Speaker!

Exciting news! At the 9th Annual Aurora Summit, we are proud to feature Keynote Speaker Joe Buffalo Child, also known as Joe Bailey, the original Aurora Hunter of Yellowknife! In November, we will welcome this Professional Aurora Hunter and Indigenous Aurora Tour Guide to the stage.

Joe’s connection to the land began on the traplines with his grandparents. Some of his earliest memories are of the aurora dancing above. “My grandmother taught us that when the lights are dancing and the solar wind is moving fast, it’s the spirit of someone who passed, reaching out—letting you know they are okay and reminding you to live a good life,” Joe says.

While beliefs vary among Inuit and First Nations groups, Joe views the lights as a message of goodwill from the ancestors. On his tours, he offers this deep cultural and spiritual context to his guests. He finds the greatest reward when visitors find personal healing or “genuine experiences” under the sky, noting that “that’s better than any tip.”

Joe is the CEO and principal owner of North Star Adventures, a tour company based out of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Founded in 2007, North Star Adventures was created by Joe and his family to showcase Dene culture while honoring his ancestors. Joe is known for his unique ability to find the northern lights even on cloudy nights—a skill he attributes to his grandfather’s lessons on reading the weather, clouds, and birds. “I watch the sky all day and instinctively I’ll know: Don’t go east. So we’ll go west,” he says.

Yellowknife is uniquely positioned directly under the auroral oval, in the dream location of the auroral zone. Because this region of Canada lacks oceans or mountains to trap cloud systems, the chance of getting a starry night to see the lights in this area is 98 percent. Joe’s tours go beyond simple viewing; he seeks out secluded spots away from other groups to provide a transcendent, solitary experience in the often frozen landscapes.

On top of small group tours, he also offers storytelling tours focused on legends and the cultural significance of the land and sky; indigenous-perspective city tours where guests can see Yellowknife’s history through the eyes of the Dene people; and buffalo viewing experiences, giving guests a chance to see the majestic Wood buffalo (or bison) in their natural habitat.

Joe Buffalo Child is known around the world for his successful Aurora Hunting tours, and the photographs that capture the otherworldly splendor of Yellowknife’s painted skies. In these reaches of far northern Canada, it’s not uncommon to see all-sky Aurora, neon Northern Lights, “cinnamon rolls” or swirls, and the “Holy Grail” of Aurora Chasing: the corona.

Get more Aurora Summit updates: TheAuroraSummit.com/updates
Learn more about North Star Adventures: https://northstaradventures.ca/

Photos courtesy of North Star Adventures.

02/15/2026

Now seeking presenters!! The "Aurora Summit: Celebrating the Art, Culture, Science and Photography of the Aurora" is now accepting ideas from prospective presenters. Presenters receive free admission, meals, and an honorarium, as well as promotion on our platforms. Held annually in the U.S., the international Aurora Summit welcomes presentations on a wide range of topics, from beginner to advanced. Submit your idea!

Aurora Summit 26 will be held November 6-8, 2026 in Houghton, Michigan, USA! Entries are due on March 15th - Link in comments.

Photo by Co-Founder Dixie J. Burbank.

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