Neal Brown

Brown

One of the aurora色视频下载檚 most fantastic features revealed itself to researchers at the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks in the late 1960s, and Neal Brown was part of the team to discover it.

Brown and others confirmed that auroras appear simultaneously in the northern and southern hemispheres.

色视频下载淭he auroras were conjugate, identical to one another, within two seconds,色视频下载 Brown recalled in a 2018 interview with KUAC journalist Robert Hannon.

Brown helped capture the evidence using photographs. Two sets were taken from separate aircraft flying at the same moment high above opposite points on the Earth.

色视频下载淭he aurora in one hemisphere would brighten; the other one brightened. The aurora would move a little bit; the other one would move a little bit,色视频下载 he said.

Brown, who grew up on a farm in eastern Washington, had been drawn to the aurora after graduating in 1961 from Washington State University with a physics degree. The catalyst was a job with NASA, where he worked with a team trying to figure out how to prevent space vehicles from burning up when re-entering the Earth色视频下载檚 atmosphere. 

色视频下载淵ou can study the atmosphere 色视频下载 ascertain temperatures, pressures, chemical compositions in the atmosphere 色视频下载 all of those things just from looking at the light from the aurora and breaking it down with a spectroscope,色视频下载 he recalled. 色视频下载淪o I was fascinated by that.色视频下载

色视频下载淭hey went on without me and built other hardware,色视频下载 he said with a laugh.

So, after spending a year at Thule, Greenland, Brown earned his master色视频下载檚 degree in geophysics at UAF in 1966 and went to work at the Geophysical Institute. That色视频下载檚 how he ended up photographing the aurora from a plane flying above 色视频下载 while its counterpart flew out of New Zealand. 

In 1971, the institute hired him to direct its rocket-launching facility north of Fairbanks, the Poker Flat Research Range.

色视频下载淚t was kind of a crazy 色视频下载 homesteader sort of operation,色视频下载 he said. 色视频下载淲e did everything ourselves.色视频下载

Brown directed Poker Flat for 18 bustling years. 色视频下载淚 think I clocked out at 219 launches,色视频下载 he said.

In 1989, Brown took a sabbatical and found a new interest 色视频下载 science education and communication.

He began lecturing and teaching for numerous schools and organizations. Though he retired from an assistant professor position at UAF in 1995, he didn色视频下载檛 slow down. From 2002-2008, he directed the 色视频下载 Space Grant Program, a UAF-based consortium that enhances teaching, research and education in the fields of aerospace and earth sciences.

Unlike many of his peers, Brown never earned a doctorate in science. Running Poker Flat kept him busy, and he and his wife had three children.

But his ability to explain science and his passion for the topic earned him that long-delayed Ph.D. UAF granted him an honorary doctorate for his science communication work in 1997.

色视频下载淢y basic skill I think is an incredible curiosity and enthusiasm, and I try to bring that across, particularly to people I色视频下载檓 talking to, or with kids, to get them interested,色视频下载 Brown told Hannon in the 2018 interview. 色视频下载淯sually if you色视频下载檙e really excited about something, everybody wants to help you.色视频下载

More online about Neal Brown:

  • His personal .

  • An in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner about one of his many talks. 

  • The produced from Robert Hannon色视频下载檚 interview, the UAF Summer Sessions色视频下载 2018 Legacy Lecture.