NORVIS: a portable broadband imaging spectrograph for auroral observations

Abstract. We present NORVIS (NORdlys Versatile Imaging Spectrograph), a portable broadband imaging spectrograph developed for ground-based auroral observations. Based on the Star'Ex optical concept, NORVIS is optimized for auroral emissions and covers approximately 380–860 nm in a single acquisition at a moderate spectral resolution of 1.2 nm FWHM. The instrument combines auroral spectroscopy, wide-field context imaging, field operation, automated spectral reduction, and centralized data archiving within a researcher-citizen science framework. First observations were obtained during a campaign at Skibotn Observatory, Norway, in February 2026, during which approximately 1200 spectra were acquired and reduced over three observing nights, with typical exposure times of 30 s. These observations demonstrate the simultaneous detection of key auroral emissions, including the N2+ 1NG bands at 391.4 and 427.8 nm and the [O I] emissions at 557.7 and 630.0/636.4 nm, while also providing access to the Hα region and to O I emissions at 777.4 and 844.6 nm. Representative observations illustrate the potential of NORVIS for emission-ratio diagnostics and geometry-aware interpretation of auroral structures. NORVIS is intended to form the basis of a distributed observing network, with coordinated deployments planned in Kiruna, Skibotn, Svalbard, and northern Finland, followed by permanent installations at Kiruna, Skibotn, the Kjell Henriksen Observatory in Svalbard, and Nyrölä.

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Publication Details

Published
2026-10-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5461
Primary Topic
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
Type
preprint
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preprint

NORVIS: a portable broadband imaging spectrograph for auroral observations

Urban Brändström, Magnar G. Johnsen, Olivier Garde, V. Desnoux et al.
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
preprint

NORVIS: a portable broadband imaging spectrograph for auroral observations

Urban Brändström, Magnar G. Johnsen, Olivier Garde, V. Desnoux, Mathieu Barthélémy, Maxime Grandin, David Bolsée, Rowan Dayton-Oxland, Antoine Calegaro, Johan De Keyser, H. Lamy, Kirsti Kauristie, Sota Nanjo, Romain Maggiolo, F. Darrouzet, Noora Partamies, Gaël Cessateur, C. Buil, Matthieu Le Lain, Guillaume Bertrand
preprint en

Abstract

Abstract. We present NORVIS (NORdlys Versatile Imaging Spectrograph), a portable broadband imaging spectrograph developed for ground-based auroral observations. Based on the Star'Ex optical concept, NORVIS is optimized for auroral emissions and covers approximately 380–860 nm in a single acquisition at a moderate spectral resolution of 1.2 nm FWHM. The instrument combines auroral spectroscopy, wide-field context imaging, field operation, automated spectral reduction, and centralized data archiving within a researcher-citizen science framework. First observations were obtained during a campaign at Skibotn Observatory, Norway, in February 2026, during which approximately 1200 spectra were acquired and reduced over three observing nights, with typical exposure times of 30 s. These observations demonstrate the simultaneous detection of key auroral emissions, including the N2+ 1NG bands at 391.4 and 427.8 nm and the [O I] emissions at 557.7 and 630.0/636.4 nm, while also providing access to the Hα region and to O I emissions at 777.4 and 844.6 nm. Representative observations illustrate the potential of NORVIS for emission-ratio diagnostics and geometry-aware interpretation of auroral structures. NORVIS is intended to form the basis of a distributed observing network, with coordinated deployments planned in Kiruna, Skibotn, Svalbard, and northern Finland, followed by permanent installations at Kiruna, Skibotn, the Kjell Henriksen Observatory in Svalbard, and Nyrölä.

Finnish Meteorological Institute (FI), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Swedish Institute of Space Physics (SE), Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BE), Université de Bretagne Sud (FR), Institut de Recherche en Informatique et Systèmes Aléatoires (FR), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (FR), University Centre in Svalbard (SJ), UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO), Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
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