When in the presence of the Northern Lights, three main phases occur that hint at what’s to come: Onset, expansion, and recovery. The Aurora moves through phases that capture her arch and describe her dynamic formations, until she fades away to gather her strength.

On my own journey, it seems fitting that this season has been a time of expansion. Let me drop a few updates, preview a few coming attractions, and invite you to get in on the action!

In the featured photograph, I stood on the ice roads of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada in March, to catch the Aurora on a chase with friend and fellow chaser Cristiano. The amazing photo in this post was taken by Cristiano Saturno, who works as a professional tour guide at Dancing Skies Photo Tours.

Pictured on the left is the mission patch for Fram2, where Astronaut Jannicke Mikkelsen partnered with myself and other Aurora Chasers to conduct new research in the SolarMax Mission.

Updates on the Journey

Writing, nature and public speaking have brought me to every corner of Michigan, as well as Ohio and Wisconsin. Within the last year, I’ve added international destinations including Iceland and the Northwest Territories of Canada, with more amazing travels to Norway and Finland to come! Here are just a few ways to connect.

• SolarMax Mission — I was proud to serve on the Ground Support Team for the SolarMax Mission, which allowed astronauts in low-Earth orbit on Fram2 to monitor Aurora from space, while we as citizen scientists monitored the same Aurora from the ground!
• Beyond the Aurora — I launched a new blog to publish my heartfelt writing on Substack! The platform offers amazing benefits, such as short notes that mimic Twitter, email subscriptions to view only the content you want, recommendations to great writers and photographers, exclusive access to paid content, the option to chat with me personally, and more. I highly recommend checking it out, but here’s a bonus: You do not need an account to read Substack.
• Booked for over 30 events in 2025! Subscribe to get notified of upcoming events & opportunities. Many of these events include book signings. Finally, I’ve found a list I have time to update, with an email option!
• In 2025, I was named an Aurora Columnist and Contributing Editor for Amateur Astronomy Magazine. Check it out: https://amateurastronomy.com/
• Slated for release in June, I was recently interviewed in studio to talk about the Michigan Aurora Chasers for “Astronomy for Everyone,” a show by the Ford Amateur Astronomy Club. Subscribe to their channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AstronomyForEveryone
• New Adventures! Get a lens into many aspects of my life on my new Adventures page: KaelinArt.com/adventures
• I also refreshed my homepage to bring you more benefits, directly on KaelinArt.com
• Join me in the fight to protect democracy: “Breathe…”

Coming Attractions

In 2025, I’m honored to be invited to participate in initiatives near and far that celebrate the Aurora, culture, and our pristine natural wilderness. Several of these events are free, open to the public, or open to paying guests. Below is a sampling of these coming attractions.

• May 30-31, 2025 — We’ve added an open Kick-Off Event to the 3rd Annual Michigan Aurora Chasers Workshop! The workshop itself is sold out, but you’re welcome to join us at 6pm Friday, May 30th for the Kick-Off party! Get all the event details.
• June 20-23, 2025 — Dark Sky Sanctuary Adventure at Beaver Island State Wilderness Area and International Dark Sky Sanctuary, including meet-and-greet, Saturday presence at the Sustainability Fair, a book signing Saturday afternoon, and guided aurora chases. Visit the Michigan Aurora Chasers website for details.
• July 20, 2025 — I was invited to the Detroit Festival of Books! Come out to meet me.
• August 1, 2025 — First Fridays: Featured Presenter at Longway Planetarium. Get tickets!
• September 12-14, 2025 — Save the Date! Upper Peninsula Bound
• October 9-24, 2025 — Traveling on a Hurtigruten Cruise to chase the Aurora in Norway! More about my adventures.
• November 7-9, 2025 — The Aurora Summit Features Keynote Speaker Dan Zafra! You can now get email updates when we launch, to be the first to see the Limited Edition Early Bird Rate, or join the Facebook group to stay connected. Get ready: Registration launches in June! Details at TheAuroraSummit.com.
• All Events — I also have a full line-up of free programs coming to Kent County, Milford and more. View all events.

Coming in 2026! February 24 – March 4, 2026 — Leading the tour of Finland Arctic Magnificence as a staff expert for the University of Michigan Alumni Association. Association members are welcome to join the tour! Click here for details.

Get In On the Action!

A spring of quiet night skies has shown us just how eager people are to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, like viewing the strongest Northern Lights! So, with the help of my team at the Michigan Aurora Chasers, we’ve created more opportunities to learn, share our creativity, and get involved. Here are some of the newest options.

Michigan Aurora Chasers Official Website

View extensive Guides, Resources and other information on the Michigan Aurora Chasers website, or subscribe to get occasional updates and new content about the Northern Lights. We now offer real-time push notifications and sound alerts via the Telegram App, we’re on Instagram, and you can always join the Facebook Group that started it all. I even have my own Founder’s page, with my own advice and exclusive opportunities.

Presenting the Traveling Exhibit

If you’re a member of the Michigan Aurora Chasers, you can submit your photo to be featured at many events on the horizon in a traveling miniature exhibit that we’ll showcase on a tablet. Or anyone, regardless of country and location, is welcome to submit photography to be featured in the planetarium show on August 1st!

New Event Series! The Michigan Aurora Experience

In our Aurora community, we’ve long offered ways for our members to meet at the MI Aurora Social and we’ve seized on opportunities to lead our famous #LiveChase during active Aurora! The Social leaves Aurora out of the question, gathering folks in a cozy spot indoors. And the Live Chase can only be announced when powerful conditions are eminent — on very short notice! So, we’re taking the best of both worlds, and combining them together.

Enter the Michigan Aurora Experience. We’ll schedule an event way in advance, set you up for success with an ideal location and a great moon phase, and hope for clear nights and dancing skies — as we teach you how to catch the Aurora. Planning nearly a month out, we offer no guarantees, not even good weather. But in these events, you can meet like-minded people, enjoy the stars, and learn the ropes of the chase.

We’ve led two Aurora Experiences so far in 2025, and on the second guided aurora chase, we were successful! A third MI Aurora Experience is planned for Friday, May 30th at sunset at Headlands International Dark Sky Park in Northern Michigan. You’re welcome to attend! It’s free, with a suggested donation of one “cup o’ joe” using our tip-jar websites.