EISCAT

Swedish public radio noticed the EISCAT Symposium and 50 years of EISCAT. Johan Kero got to talk a little about that 📡

Under veckan har EISCAT firat 50 år och samlat forskare från världen över på Rymdcampus i Kiruna.

Radaranläggningarna har möjliggjort och möjliggör unik forskning för IRF:s forskare som handlar om exempelvis meteorer och rymdskrot.

Framöver kommer det nya systemet, EISCAT_3D, att ge än bättre möjligheter till denna forskning.

I morse medverkade IRF-forskaren Johan Kero i P4 Norrbotten Sveriges Radio:s direktsändning för att berätta om ovan nämnda samt vad kommande solstormar innebär för systemet och möjligheterna att se norrsken.

Lyssna från cirka 224:47 min i sändningen:
🔗 https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/2848142

Thank you for attending the 22nd EISCAT Symposium and the 49th AM, and celebrating EISCAT 50 years with us.

We are delighted that so many of you were able to join and trust that you found the event valuable.

Today at the EISCAT Symposium.

At a ceremony at 10:30, Dr. Craig Heinselman will receive the Beynon Medal, for outstanding services to the EISCAT Scientific Association and his invaluable contributions to the establishment of the EISCAT_3D radar.

Congratulations!

This is the last Beynon Medal award, as the EISCAT Scientific Association is no more.

🎆 30 years of EISCAT Svalbard Radar 🎆

On 22 August 1996, the EISCAT Svalbard Radar was inaugurated. The radar represented a valuable addition to the EISCAT system, significantly expanding its capabilities, and it remains an integral part of EISCAT to this day.

Last day of the EISCAT Symposium, Friday 28 August, will give you: Mesosphere, meteors and space debris.

🛰 "Odin 25 years"

🌌 "Deciphering the Nightglow: The Synergy of Atmospheric Observations, Modeling Calculations, and Laboratory Experiments" - ever heard of airglow?

🚀 "The ORIGIN Rocket Project – Old and New Sources of Oxygen Nightglow" - chemical processes in the atmosphere

💫 "Fireball and Space Debris Observations with the BRAMS Network" - space debris and space safety

🛰 "The Nordic Space Tracking Radar (NOSTRA)" - tracking of space debris

Day 4 of the EISCAT Symposium (Thursday 27 August) will contain talks of radar techniques and the ionosphere.

🌌"MAARSY-3D: Multi-static Interferometric Radar Measurements of MLT Phenomena and Dynamics" - advanced radar technique

🌌 "First Detection of the Enigmatic Low Latitude 150-km Echoes in the UHF Band" - mystical echoes

🌌 "An Abrupt Decrease in Electron Temperature Inside the Ionospheric Density Holes During the Launches of Carrier Rockets" - rocket launches and man-made changes

🌌 "Four-dimensional Observations for the Low-latitude Sporadic E Layer by Sanya Incoherent Scatter Radar" - thin layers that can affect radio communication

🌌 "Moderate Geomagnetic Storm Effects on the Ionosphere-Thermosphere" - understanding of geomagnetic storms

🌌 "Advance in Incoherent Scatter Observations of the Ionospheric D Region" - how radio waves are scattered

🌌 "3D Reconstruction of a Westward Traveling Surge Event and Conductivity Distribution Analysis" - disturbances in the ionosphere

The Symposium session for Wednesday (26 August) will feature a special programme. The last Beynon will be awarded to a person that has had a significant impact on EISCAT and its operations.

Other topics will be:
📡 The Polar Geospace Observatory – a new facility on Svalbard?
📡 Present and Future of Heating with EISCAT
📡 Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) with the EISCAT Tromsø UHF Radar

The following day of the EISCAT Symposium, Tuesday 25 August, will revolve around Multi-instrument studies, instrumentation, space weather and upper thermosphere.

🌍 "Multi-Instrument Ground–Space Conjugate Observations of the Northern Magnetospheric Cusp and Merging Gap" - studies from both ground and space.

🌍 "Imaging Auroral Polarization – First-Light Results from the POLAR Camera" - new information of polarization of Aurora.

🌍 "Studies of Noctilucent Clouds from the Stratosphere During the TRANSAT Balloon Flight" - clouds that glow in the night.

🌍 "Secular Shifts in the Earth’s Magnetic Field and Its Consequences for Auroral Boundaries" - changes in magnetic fields.

🌍 "Omega Bands as a Space Weather Hazard" - structures that can disturb navigation.

The first day of the EISCAT Symposium, Monday 24 August, will feature presentations and discussions of Aurora studies. What do yo think about these topics?

📡 The newly discovered GHOST aurora: "What is GHOST aurora?"

📡 The impressive fine-scaled aurora: "Fine-scale aurora over Skibotn"

📡EISCAT_3D and auroral spectroscopy_: "Auroral spectroscopy at Skibotn for EISCAT_3D: ASIS results and future developments"

📡 The unique ALIS_4D (3D+time) ""Altitude Structure and Morphological Differences of Aurora Using ALIS_4D"

📡 Advanced methods for explaining movements in aurora: "Auroral ray dynamics retrieved by the 3D auroral tomography"

Photo: Craig Heinselman

EISCAT Symposium 2026: 50 years of space research and the challenges of the future
From 24 to 28 August 2026, world-leading researchers in atmospheric and space research will gather in Kiruna for the 22nd international .

The event also marks EISCAT’s 50th anniversary – half a century of pioneering work to understand space weather and its impact on society.

Topics to be discussed during the symposium include:
📡 Aurora borealis studies and space weather
📡 Threats to power grids, satellites and communications
📡 Meteors and space debris
📡 The future of EISCAT_3D, the world’s most advanced radar for atmospheric research

“Research into the ionosphere and space weather makes us better equipped to tackle future challenges” – EISCAT

Find out more about the programme and EISCAT’s role in modern space research: https://eiscat.se/eiscat-symposium-2026/