From the spark to the fire, reflections on five years of public participation in aurora research

Citizen science reports have much to add to AGU's Space Physics and Aeronomy community and knowledge base. Not only are we data-starved in sampling and modeling a vast domain, but in situ measurements have only existed since the Space Age. Auroras are the end result of a cascade of plasma physics beginning 93 million miles away on the Sun and ending with visible lights in near Earth space. Aurorasaurus is the world's first citizen science project dedicated to the Northern and Southern Lights. Citizen scientists can increase their chances to see aurora, contribute to helping others see aurora, help scientists improve very coarse models of aurora, and actively learn more about space physics in the process. Recently, citizen scientists have even captured features of aurora-like arcs not previously described in the literature at sub-auroral latitudes. This disruptive innovation of the "STEVE" aurora has contributed to ground-breaking new publications and understanding that have energized both traditional and public views of our science in ways not seen in many years. The Aurorasaurus project has been funded by NASA and NSF over the years and owes much to dedicated 'aurora chasers' who have supplemented their passions to include collaboratively contributing observations for archiving, alerts, and discovery. Facing severe jargon problems common in geophysics, the two-way pathways of science communication embodied by citizen science methodologies can lead to co-created gains that benefit both the public and professional scientists in surprising ways, powerfully demonstrating 21st-century definitions of who does science.