How to Use Our Group

Are you a member of the Michigan Aurora Chasers Facebook Group? In just over three years, our group expanded to include over 100,000 members, with some of the most engaged members and frequent Live Sightings available. We now number over 130,000 members on Facebook, with other platforms available.

Our Aurora Forecasts are posted inside the Facebook Group. They are always pinned to the top of the group in the Featured/Announcements section, and these posts may be hidden under a drop-down arrow at the top of the group.

Once we achieve the milestone of 10,000 Followers on Instagram, we also aimed to provide you with live alerts on an Instagram Channel. It was taking a while to grow, so we instead launched free live alerts on the Telegram App!

How to Use Our Facebook Group

We welcome people of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we cater to beginners who are still trying to learn to how to catch their first Aurora or how to catch the Northern Lights more often. We serve Michigan and the surrounding areas, and we enjoy being a leader in advice for beginners nationwide. Our advice might help you too!

For those who are members of the group, we have made an effort to give tours of the Facebook site and explain how our group shares Live Sightings of the Aurora.

Most Requested Videos:

• How to Find the Featured Section
• How to Read the 3-Day Forecast from the SWPC
• Find a Viewing Location Anywhere

Watch the video below to get the most out of the Facebook Group for the Michigan Aurora Chasers! We hope to provide an updated video tutorial soon.

Best Practices in Our Private Group

Use these tips to help keep our community a welcoming and inspiring place:

1. Wondering when Aurora will dance? Check the New Aurora Forecast Thread each time you visit the group for updated information. We provide regular updates about the chances for Aurora across Michigan. This post at the top of the group often appears below a drop-down arrow. Please try to wait patiently to find out if Aurora are present, rather than asking if they will be. The answer will be provided by our team!
2. On active nights when the Aurora may be present, please avoid creating New Posts. Unless you have a Live Sighting! We make two exceptions for new posts on active chases, inviting people to create a new post for Live Sightings or for Forecast Updates by experienced Aurora Chasers. When you are ready to report a Live Sighting, create a new post with the TIME, DATE and LOCATION* of the Aurora.
3. We strongly encourage members to REFRAIN from posting exact viewing locations* on the group wall, because those locations could face the risk of overcrowding while over 100,000 people decide where to go. Instead, we encourage you to provide advice on exact locations in small groups or private messages. Learn why.
4. We welcome questions! We also ask those who find them annoying to please just scroll on by. If you are an active member, this likely means you benefit from the group in some way, and we would ask to please be patient as we answer beginner questions. You may also direct newcomers to this website. When the group is busy, search for THE ANSWERS THREAD where our experts and admins can easily find your questions and provide a helpful answer.
5. Comment on or reply to the best posts! Dropping any type of comment, sticker or GIF on a Facebook post helps the content rise to the top of the group — and beat the algorithm! This is the best way to help prevent repeat questions, because the information will have a broader reach.
6. Report, report, report. When in doubt, if you find a comment or post offensive, inappropriate or inaccurate, please report it to the admins. We may not take action, but it will help us know when and where to intervene.

Want to share opportunities, news or sales? Please take advantage of our best series days, which occur with a thread every week. Our special series days include:

• #WorkshopWednesday — We invite our members to share upcoming workshops, exhibits and events that are related to Aurora or photography!
• #PhenomenalFriday — A crowd favorite, the thread on Fridays allows you to share absolutely anything you’d like to brag about. We refer to this as “your talents!” This is also your opportunity to share other night sky imagery or stunning artwork, using the hashtag #PhenomenalFriday.
• #SmallBusinessSaturday — Unlike other groups, we don’t mind when you share links to your Facebook pages, photography websites, print stores and other places where people can support you and your business. Please join us in telling us what you have to offer on the Small Business Saturday thread!

*While we strongly discourage sharing exact viewing locations such as park names or street intersections in the group, sharing the county or city/state of an Aurora sighting are always encouraged.

More Video Guides: Michigan Aurora Chasers Savvy

A video playlist is also in development to help Michigan Aurora Chasers understand how to get the most out of the group. You can view all of these videos on the playlist called Michigan Aurora Chasers Savvy.

Non-Aurora Photos & Special Topic Threads

With over 100,000 members and climbing, unfortunately we can’t let everyone post their night sky photos that are not Aurora inside our group. We also can’t sustain dozens or hundreds of sunset or sunrise photos, as it would change the nature of the group and its effectiveness.

Admins work to keep the content focused on Aurora Chasing and Aurora Photography, and to clear the group wall for Live Sightings on active nights. That’s when members wait eagerly to see if, where, and when Northern Lights are present. Letting actual Aurora sightings rise to the top of the feed takes every member’s cooperation.

Here’s how the lead team may decide what posts can stay, even if they are off topic:

1. It’s Conversation — Dozens of comments pop up immediately and the post becomes a valuable conversation hub. We don’t want to delete your conversations if we don’t have to.

2. It’s Educational — The subject of the photo answers a common misconception or a shared rare sighting, that we are seeing multiple members ask questions about.

3. It’s Part of a Set — Include at least one Aurora photo in a set of photos or data and your post may become more relevant as Aurora content. Captions appreciated in case the photo pops out of the set.

4. It’s Rare Phenomena — We occasionally will let rare sightings stand, but we really encourage you to post these on a Special Topic thread if there is one.

5. It’s #PhenomenalFriday or one of our series days — Every member is welcome to post off topic on our weekly Friday series, as long as you include the hashtag.

If we let just a handful of members post sunsets, sunrises, the full moon or the Milky Way any day of the week, for example, all of a sudden we don’t look much like an Aurora group and the Aurora Chasing content gets buried. We can’t help anyone catch the Aurora if they can’t find Aurora content.

Non-Aurora photos like this are usually okay if they are added as a comment or reply to an existing post. It’s the New Posts that quickly clog the feed.

If you have an idea for a Special Topic Thread, let an Admin know! Thank you for understanding!