Aurora Borealis - the northern lights

This site is a scientific-based site from The Northern Lights Planetarium, a part of the Tromsų Museum, University of Tromsų in Norway. The author does a very good job explaining the northern lights in plain language, with out sounding too childish. The photographs are a small, and would be great at higher resolutions. I liked the way he had a page for folklore, as well as several different scientific explainations, and three norwegian pioneers who made large contributions to the study of the northern lights.

How our site will differ

• Our site will have a lot more photographs, as well as information about photographing the northern lighhts
• We will only have 1-2 pages of scientific information

How our site will be similar

• We definately plan on having a myth/folklore page
• We will have info about people who have made large contributions to the study of the northern lights, whether photographically or scientifically, as well as the cultures that created the myths.

KatherineGrandstrand >>>>>>>

www.northern-lights.no/

This site is very colorful with pictures of the northern lights used as backgrounds and in the site. It has the NL photo of the month under the NL photo of the year and also a slideshow with 1700 Nl photos. It is highly photo based. The two column site has photocontest, what are, latest observations and Q&A on the NL.

The right column has NL activities up to the hour, space weather forecast articles and news and quick facts on the NL. In the left hand corner there is a nav bar that appears on every page in the site. Good idea and a good way to the main pages in the site. I like how from this site you can view other photographers galleries while remaining in the site.

Distinguishing our site from this one:

• The Q&A gets to be too much right on the home page. Make a link to it.

• Viewers might want to read myths on the NL. Which I found this site has.

• Particularily a photo site, does not have a good page in it that tells how these photographers took these images.

• A great site to show off you photos of the NL.

• Too much activity with all the NL photos in the background of the site.

• The nav bar in the left hand corner blends in to much to background images.

• The margins on this site are very distracting.

Our site

• Not so much noise in the background

• A nav bar that stands out a little clearer.

• More myths

• How to take photos of and not just where to go.

Todd

http://www.venhaus1.com/photographaurora.html

This site is one compiled from the findings of a man named Chris Venhaus, a semi-professional photographer specializing in landscape, aurora, and weather photography. The contents in this page are varied and include: Causes of northern lights, equipment needed to photograph northern lights, predicting northern lights, and techniques for better photography of northern lights. This site provides detailed explanations of all these things as well as a little humor and a few exemplary photos. I found the instructions for photographing the northern lights in this website very easy to understand. The explanations for how northern lights are formed were concise, scientific, and fairly understandable. This site is an all-in-one source for information and will be hard to compare to as well as a great source for research.

Similarities

• Provides instructions on photography of the northern lights.
• Provides instructions in predicting the northern lights.
• Provides examples of northern lights photography.
• Provides information on causes of northern lights.
• Designed from the perspective of an experienced northern lights photographer.

Differences

• Our website will have additional focus on cultural mythologies and personal stories regarding the northern lights.
• Our website will be designed from the perspective of inexperienced northern lights photographers.
• Our website will provide a scope of differing methods for photography of the northern lights.

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Michigan Tech Aurora Page

The Aurora Page is one column with a soft bottom. There is no navigation bar to help find related aurora content. All aurora information in every category is located on one page. It seems the most important content is located at the top of the page, while the least important content is located at the bottom. With this in mind, the top of the Aurora Page is filled with thumbnail pictures that expand in a new page when clicked. The remainder of the Aurora Page is a collection of links. Many links are accompanied with blurbs that describe these links. The links direct to sites that offer forecasts, more images and education.

Probable similarities

• Use of thumbnails
• Collection of links with blurbs
• Educating our readers where and when the aurora can be best viewed

We will distinguish ourselves by

• Including mythologies and folklore
• Incorporating global links in a navigation bar to direct the user to different aurora categories
• Including a photography how-to page
• Developing regional information specific to Bemidji/northern Minnesota

JeppeBundgaard

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