Beyond the 45th Parallel

Make your dream a reality, and catch the Aurora in your backyard! Now with added tools and techniques, this guide introduces beginners to the adventure of chasing the Northern Lights. Find out what it takes to catch this rare natural phenomenon in the mid-latitudes and beyond. With over 10 years of experience chasing the Northern Lights, Melissa F. Kaelin describes how to catch the Aurora at latitudes where they are more elusive. She uses a warm, conversational tone to offer tried-and-true advice, encouragement, and a friendly reality check about the challenges Aurora Chasers face. As Founder of the Michigan Aurora Chasers and Co-Founder of the Aurora Summit, Melissa finds inspiration in sharing the experience of the Aurora with others. Her goal is to help more people understand, catch, and celebrate the enchanting Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis.
Melissa F. Kaelin is the founder of the Michigan Aurora Chasers and the co-founder of the Aurora Summit: Celebrating the Art, Culture, Science and Photography of the Aurora. She is a writer, speaker and stargazer who finds inspiration in the Northern Lights. A published journalist and science communications writer, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is native to rural Ohio, and she spent her formative years with nonfiction and creative writing in Minnesota, where she lived for 11 years. With a love for the Great Lakes, she moved to Michigan in 2018. In 2021, Melissa founded the Michigan Aurora Chasers, a group devoted to catching the Northern Lights that has grown to approximately 100,000 members and climbing. She has helped hundreds of people catch the Aurora for the first time, inspiring many others along the way. She is also the author of many books, short stories and poetry collections, and her articles and stories have been published in many newspapers, magazines and videos. For more information, visit KaelinArt.com.