Annual report: The Kjell Henriksen Observatory 2025

Fred Sigernes, Mikko Syrjäsuo, Ida Elen Asklund¹, Kjell Ivar Haugnes, Alexander Eskedal, Dag Lorentzen, Noora Partamies, Lisa Baddeley, Katie Herlingshaw, Nina Kristine Eriksen, Charlotte van Hazendonk, Lena Mielke, Stein Haaland, Kjellmar Oksavik and Pål Brekke

The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Norway
¹ Statsbygg Region North Svalbard, Norway

©KHO Created 16.01.2026 - Revised: 09.03.2026

Download as PDF

The Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO) is the world's largest hub for optical instruments dedicated to detecting airglow and aurora. Located at an altitude of 525 meters above sea level, it is the highest infrastructure on Svalbard and operates continuously, 24/7 throughout the year. Currently, 23 institutions from 10 nations maintain instruments at the site.

The observatory continues a legacy of auroral research that began at the original Nordlysstasjonen in Adventdalen (1978-2007). On February 18, 2026, the observatory will mark 18 years since its official opening by the Minister of Research and Higher Education, Tora Aasland, together with astronaut Christer Fuglesang.

Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway honored the observatory with visits in both 2013 and 2015 - events we remain deeply grateful for and proud of.

Daily Operations

Scientific personnel

Name	Position
Daily operations
Fred Sigernes	Prof. Optics and Atmospheric Research / Chief KHO / Adjunct Prof. NTNU
Mikko Syrjäsuo	Department Engineer KHO / OFS
Ida Elen Asklund	Operations Manager Statsbygg
Kjell Ivar Haugnes	IT Manager UNIS / KHO
Alexander Eskedal	Technician - Motorhead UNIS / OSF
SuperDARN
Dag Arne Lorentzen	Prof. Arctic Geophysics (PI)
Lisa Baddeley	Prof. Space physics - Radar applications (Co-I)
Scientists / Lecturers
Noora Partamies	Prof. Middle Atmos. Physics
Katie Herlingshaw	Researcher Upper Atmos. Physics
Nina Kristine Eriksen	PhD. Candidate Space Physics
Charlotte van Hazendonk	PhD. Candidate Space Physics
Lena Mielke	PhD. Candidate Space Physics
Stein Haaland	Department Leader Geophysics
Adjunct Professors
Kjellmar Oksavik	Adjunct Prof. Space Physics
Pål Brekke	Adjunct Prof. Solar Physics

Table 1. The KHO crew (2025). SuperDARN is abbreviation for the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radar in Longyearbyen, while OFS means the Operations and Field Safety department at UNIS.

The current KHO team is listed above. Fred Sigernes serves as Head and shares daily operational responsibilities with Mikko Syrjäsuo. Ida Elen Asklund, from the Norwegian Construction and Property Management Department (Statsbygg) in Longyearbyen, is our primary contact for building ownership matters. Kjell Ivar Haugnes provides IT support for the observatory. Alexander Eskedal has maintained our bandwagon and cars.

KHO is the primary laboratory for hands-on training and education of students in the Space Physics group at UNIS. Here, students gain practical experience in observational techniques, instrument development, and are introduced to state-of-the-art facilities for remote auroral observations.

Fig. 1. RENU-3 students together with operation personnel posing in front of the Sony A7s All-Sky camera.

Table 2 lists 6 relevant courses in space physics and instrumental techniques tied to the observatory. A grand total of 45 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) was available to the students.

Code	Course name	ECTS
AGF-216	The Stormy Sun and the Northern Lights	5
AGF-301/801	The Upper Polar Atmosphere	15
AGF-304/804	Radar Diagnostics of Space Plasma	15
AGF-345/845	Polar Magnetospheric Substorms	10
AGF-210	The middle polar atmosphere	15
AGF-223	Remote sensing and space instrumentation	15

Table 2. Courses in (2025). Strikeout courses are due to key personnel were on sabbatical leave.

The UNIS Svalbard history course is closed. AGF-216 has therefore become mandatory for Arctic Nature Guide (ANG) students. As a result, a record number of students, close to 100, visited the observatory.

During the auroral winter season from November to the end of February, 35 optical instruments operate around the clock. The 18 non-optical instruments run all-year-round 24 hours a day.

23 different institutions from 10 nations are present at KHO.

#	Institution	Country	Code	Instruments
1	University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)	Norway	NO	18
2	UiT-The Arctic University of Norway	Norway	NO	3
3	University of Oslo (UiO)	Norway	NO	2
4	University of Bergen	Norway	NO	1
5	NORSAR	Norway	NO	1
6	Kongsberg Satellite Service AS	Norway	NO	1
7	Augsburg College	USA	US	1
8	University of New Hampshire	USA	US	-
9	University of Colorado Boulder	USA	US	1
10	New Jersey Institute of Technology	USA	US	1
11	University College London (UCL)	England	UK	3
12	University of Southampton	England	UK	1
13	National Inst. of Polar Research (NIPR)	Japan	JP	3
14	Kyoto University	Japan	JP	2
15	Tohoku University	Japan	JP	1
16	Polar Research Inst. of China (PRIC)	China	CN	6
17	Korea Polar Research Institute	Korea	KR	2
18	Institute of Radio Astronomy	Ukraine	UA	1
19	Polish research base Hornsund	Poland	PL	1
20	Sybilla Technologies	Poland	PL	1
21	National Institute for Aeronautics	Indonesia	ID	1
22	Technische Universitat Berlin (TU)	Germany	DE	1
23	German Aerospace Center (DLR)	Germany	DE	1
		Total:	10	53

Table 3. Groups and number of instruments in 2025 .

The instruments at KHO are grouped into mainly five categories (##):

1. (A) All-sky cameras and narrow field of view imagers
2. (B) Meridian scanning photometers
3. (C) Spectrometers / Spectrographs
4. (D) Scanning / imaging interferometers
5. (E) Radio or non-optical instrument

A detailed description of the performance and the scientific objective of each instrument are found below.

No.	Instrument	Institution	##	Code
1	All-Sky Imager	University of Oslo (UiO)	A	NO
2	All-Sky Video Camera	University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)	A	NO
3	All-Sky Colour Imager	University College London (UCL)	A	UK
4	BACC All-Sky Color Camera	UNIS	A	NO
5	Sony A7s All-sky Camera	UNIS	A	NO
6	All-Sky Airglow Camera	UNIS	A	NO
7	Auroral Spectrograph	National Inst. of Polar Research (NIPR)	C	JP
8	NIR Spectrograph	NIPR	C	JP
9	NIR Camera	NIPR	A	JP
10	Spectrographic Imaging Facilities	University of Southampton	C	UK
11	Meridian Scanning Photometer	UNIS	B	US/NO
12	1/2m Black Ebert-Fastie	UNIS	C	US/NO
13	1/2m White Ebert-Fastie	UiT-The Arctic University of Norway	C	NO
14	1m Silver Ebert-Fastie	UNIS	C	US/NO
15	1m Green Ebert-Fastie	UNIS	C	US/NO
16	Fabry-Perot Interferometer	UCL	D	UK
17	Scanning Doppler Imager	UCL	D	UK
18	Monochromatic Auroral Imager	Polar Research Inst. of China (PRIC)	A	CN
19	Single-wave Auroral Imager	PRIC	A	CN
20	Fabry-Perot Interferometer	PRIC	D	CN
21	All-Sky Airglow Imager	Kyoto University	A	JP
22	Hyperspectral tracker	UNIS	C	NO
23	All-Sky hyperspectral camera	UNIS	C	NO
24	Celestron 14" Telescope	UNIS	A	NO
25	Narrow field of view sCMOS tracker	UNIS	A	NO
26	MISS 1	UNIS	C	NO
27	MISS 2	UNIS	C	NO
28	The Hot Oxygen Doppler Imager	New Jersey Institute of Technology	D	US
29	Boreal Auroral Camera Constellation	UNIS	A	NO
30	Fluxgate Magnetometer	UiT	E	NO
31	2-axis Search-coil Magnetometer	Augsburg College and University of New Hampshire	E	US
32	64-beam Imaging Riometer	UiT	E	NO
33	Auroral Radio Spectrograph	Tohoku University	E	JP
34	HF acquisition system	Institute of Radio Astronomy / UiT	E	UA
35	Scintillation and TEC receiver	University of Bergen	E	NO
36	Fluxgate Magnetometer	PRIC	E	CN
37	Induction Magnetometer	PRIC	E	CN
38	Polar Research Ionospheric Doppler Experiment	UNIS/Polish research base Hornsund	E	PL/NO
39	UCB-GNSS receiver	University of Colorado Boulder	E	US
40	Receiver station for Weak Signal Propagation Reporter (WSPR)	UiO	E	NO
41	Aurora All-Sky Camera	Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI)	A	KR
42	Fabry-Perot Interferometer	KOPRI	D	KR
43	Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph	Sybilla Technologies	A	PL
44	Induction Magnetometer	Kyoto University	E	JP
45	Outdoor All-Sky Camera unit	PRIC	A	CN
46	2 x Tracker cameras	UNIS	A	NO
47	Internet radio link-Janssonhaugen	NORSAR	E	NO
48	UHF Ground station	National Institute for Aeronautics	E	ID
49	UHF Ground station	Technische Universität Berlin	E	DE
50	Riometer - 2xGNSS antennas	German Aerospace Center	E	DE
51	VHF base station	Kongsberg Satellite Service AS	E	NO
52	Automatic weather station	UNIS	E	NO
53	WEB cameras (safety)	UNIS	A	NO

Table 4. Instruments at KHO (2025).

Figure 3 shows a map of where the instruments are located. Tables 3-4 lists all according to institution and category (##). Note that out of 30 instrument domes; 2 are currently not in use.

The Principal Investigators (PIs) of each instrumental group have been informed that the instrumental fee will be adjusted on a yearly base according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from Statistics Norway and any adjustments imposed by the owner Statsbygg - the Norwegian government building commissioner at Svalbard. The fee is now 26k NOK for 2026.

The observatory is currently in good condition; however, maintaining a mountain facility in the High Arctic remains a constant challenge. The building requires a new exterior paint layer due to high winds and snow drifts, and electrical equipment needs annual servicing to withstand harsh conditions.

This autumn, a water pump failure caused a significant freshwater leak in the tank room, necessitating removal of insulation and base plates to allow the floor to dry. Additionally, one heat pump in the battery room is suspected to have been damaged during a snowstorm after the platform door failed last season. The door has since been replaced with a metal one. Several ventilation fans require servicing due to excessive noise, likely caused by worn bearings, and door handles have been replaced.

The most costly upgrade will be the replacement of the UPS, which has reached end-of-life and suffers from limited spare parts availability. Copper water pipes should also be replaced with stainless steel.

The new network switches and virtual servers are finally installed and operational after 2 years of configuration and testing. The network should now be up to date and secure according to Norwegian university standards.

Other minor repairs remain including the emergency lighting system, repainting interior doors, servicing the main entrance key code unit, and replacing the metal plate on the entrance bridge, which was damaged by a snow-clearing machine.

High on the priority list is the installation of an emergency generator to protect the battery bank from complete discharge during unexpected external power outages.

Is the Aurora disappearing from Svalbard? Mikkel Breedveld and Stein Haaland points out that the magnetic pole moves in position and will consequently shift the auroral oval 5-6 km South each year if the current changes in the Earth's magnetic field continues. The question of how long we will see aurora from Svalbard is raised. Read Svalbardposten feature article. 30 January, 2025

HYPSO-2 works! We are proud to report that the HYPSO-2 satellite works as planned with sharp focus on both camera systems. The improved payload consist of our designed Hyper Spectral Imager (HSI v6) and a regular RGB camera. See stunning images in Gemini.no 31 January, 2025

Observatory science highlights! Read Katie Herlingshaw et al. (2025) extensive publication in the Journal Arctic Science on KHO highlights. A historic compilation that spans over 4 decades from the old Nordlysstasjonen in Adventdalen (1978) and up until today. Well done, Katie! Read milestone paper. 3 February, 2025

The Red-Sky Enigma returns From mid-January with the return of nautical to civil twilight conditions on Svalbard, a red-purple sky color is daily observed with the rise of the Sun - even though it's way below the horizon. This effect is due to a long period of cold temperatures (-85oC) in the Stratosphere over Svalbard and the mainland. As a consequence, Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC) are formed, ducting and scattering the solar light into the dark illuminated polar hemisphere. The process is explained in our Red-Sky Enigma paper published back in 2005. Read paper here. 4 February, 2025

New prototype published! Our prototype Near-Infra Red Hyper Spectral Imager version 7 (NIR HSI v7) is now published in the journal Optics Continuum (Optica). The instrument is assembled using 3D printing. Furthermore, it uses a new novel high speed Black Silicon CMOS image sensor. Read paper here. 12 February, 2025

Kjellmar in Space? View video snap of our Prof. II Kjellmar Oksavik on TV2 Play. He is dressed in a space suit for the event, explaining why we have high auroral activity the next couple of years. Excellent, Kjellmar! See video here. 13 February, 2025

Podcast: Norways Sol-Pål! Listen to Norwegian podcast on Spotify with our Prof. II Pål Brekke. Here he small talks about the Sun, Aurora, KHO, AGF-216, belt wagons and other space activities on Svalbard. Lots of topics are covered, even Karlsberger pub. Romkapsel podcast: Episode 275. 16 February, 2025

BBC radio visit Listen to BBC CrowdScience episode titled: Why isn't the sky green? Katie Herlingshaw explained the sky colors and scattering. She also guided the crew for an excursion up to the observatory. Well done, Katie! Listen here. 21 February, 2025

Asteroid impact? Prof. II Kjellmar Oksavik strikes again on TV2 Play TikTok! He informs that the asteroid identified as 2024 YR4 discovered last Christmas, will according to calculations by NASA, luckily not hit Earth in 8 years. That is a great relief! See TV2 TikTok. 25 February, 2025

NEW Planeterrella! Olivier Katz and Baptiste Falque from the University of Grenoble have installed and demonstrated our new Planeterrella reconstructed by Prof. Jean Lilensten. It's capable of creating artificial aurora just like Kristian Birkeland did back at the turn of the 19th century. View amazing displays recorded by Lotte van Hazendonk in the below links. Images [ 1, 2, 3, 4] and movies [ 1, 2, 3] 5 March, 2025

Fram2 mission complete! Fram2 astronauts including Norway's first vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen have teamed up with UNIS space physicists. The mission is the first human manned polar orbit commercial spaceflight. The SolarMaX citizen scientist project are supporting the mission with simultaneous auroral ground data. Fram2 was successfully launched at 01:46 UTC on Tuesday 1st of April 2025 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is complete and splashdown was today at 16:19 UTC. Congratulation to Jannicke and her team! Read the latest SolarMaX updates here. 4 April, 2025

Spotlight on Optics! Eureka! The Optica Publishing Group has chosen our paper: Near infra-red black silicon pushbroom hyperspectral imager, for inclusion in Spotlight on Optics. Read the summary here. 9 April, 2025

Australia joins KHO! We are proud to announce that Western Sydney University (WSU) has joined the observatory. Dr. Greg Cohen and his team from the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) are experts in event-based camera sensors. We look forward to co-operate and test the new technology on both aurora and on our hyperspectral cameras. Visit ICNS. 14 April, 2025

Government white paper The Norwegian government white paper on Svalbard (2023-2024) recognizes our activity on Breinosa as a world-leading space weather infrastructure. See textbox 4.4 in Chapter 4. We are happy together with our partners for this recognition and will continue to serve and improve our aurora forecasts to the public. Read white paper here. 19 May, 2025

Fond memories 80's Today we received a history preview from Dr. Nick Lloyd from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada of the Auroral station in Adventdalen. The panorama dates to the winter season 1982/83... Read more here. 3 June, 2025

White aurora! Continuum emission has been observed embedded in the dayside aurora over Svalbard. It is a broadband emission that looks nearly white in the full-colour all-sky images, while the spectrographs see an enhancement in the whole wavelength range from 400 to 700 nm. The continuum emission structures move and evolve with the aurora, and are associated with both plasma and neutral heating. This may be a more dynamic cousin of STEVE ... Read paper here and Noora's UNIS report. 3 July, 2025

Coming up! KHO is part of the upcoming NASA sounding rocket campaign named Rocket Experiment for Neutral Upwelling 3 (RENU-3). The payload is designed to measure neutral gas, ions and electrons associated with Poleward Moving Auroral Forms (PMAFs) in the dayside Cusp. The first possible launch window is 13 - 27 of November. PI is Prof. Marc Lessard from University of New Hampshire (UNH). AGU abstract. 11 August, 2025

Mission complete! KHO has successfully supported the NASA Rocket Experiment for Neutral Upwelling 3 (RENU-3) campaign. Our instruments together with the EISCAT Svalbard radar tracked and identified the target aurora. The four-stage, state-of-the-art sounding rocket (Black Brant XII) was launched at 09:52 UT from Andøya Space. It used only 6 minutes and 50 seconds to reach apogee at an altitude of 479 km over Svalbard. Congratulations to all the teams at UNH, NASA Wallops, EISCAT, SuperDARN, UCL, KSAT and Andøya. Press release Andøya Space. Diana Swanson's launch video. Nordlys+ news article (norwegian) 23 November, 2025

New BACC all-sky camera at Alomar! Our Boreal Aurora Camera Constellation (BACC) is slowly expanding in size since we started it back in 2015. The constellation has a low-cost philosophy with minimum administrative oversight and load. Camera number 6 is now installed at the Alomar Observatory operated by Andøya Space. We now cover northern Scandinavia and Svalbard with real-time all-sky views of the auroral oval. Data is used to improve our auroral forecast capability. See cameras field of view (coverage). Read details here. 10 December, 2025

In 2025, two new research groups installed instruments at KHO. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) deployed a riometer along with two GNSS antennas, while a Polish team installed a prototype Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph for automated acquisition and analysis of space observations. Additionally, research groups from Australia and Taiwan have expressed interest in joining the observatory during the next auroral season.

The BACC constellation, highlighted earlier, has now expanded to six stations. Figure 5 illustrates example data: while Svalbard experiences cloud cover and significant light pollution, stations in Northern Scandinavia capture simultaneous auroral observations from multiple viewpoints with one-second time resolution.

The all-sky camera constellation functions as a high-speed optical radar, capable of mapping aurora and other illuminated or self-emitting objects in the sky, provided conditions are clear. This system is essential for advancing our auroral forecast models and demonstrates how KHO's expertise in instrumentation can be successfully exported and applied beyond our observatory.

An assembled and calibrated BACC camera is an excellent gift to give partners with auroral infrastructure, offering auroral imaging capabilities at very low operational cost, expanding the constellation.

The LYR SuperDARN radar is currently in full operation and running nominally 24/7. Since the radar data became publicly available in December 2024, the radar has been operational without any major issues, except from a few days unscheduled power cuts due to issues outside our control. See quick look data here.

Some maintenance work has been done on the radar system during 2025, including main- and offset calibrations, as well as tightening of the guy ropes for all antenna masts. In addition, a new airport interlock system was installed (this is a mandatory system that turns off the radar when airplanes cross the field-of-view of the radar), and a new UPS system has been purchased and installed as well.

An exciting new project is being launched named the Solaris Project. The project is a collaboration with the Italian Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the Universite of Milan, UiO, TGO and UNIS. The goal of the project is to place a radio telescope on Svalbard, at the KHO, and/or near Tromsø to complement solar observations already taking place in Antarctica. The instrument would be a radio receiver (2.6-meter antenna) at 95 GHz and will enable observations of solar activity, such as coronal eruptions and geomagnetic storms, during the northern polar summer.

UNIS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with partners in Italy, and Norway. It was signed at the Italian Embassy in Oslo in May.

UNIS has expertise in operating and managing space weather instrumentation on Svalbard and this is an excellent opportunity to extend our collaborations into another dimension of space weather observations; by observing the Sun directly. Along with our Norwegian colleagues at UiO and UiT we are very excited to be part of this project. More info here.

The observatory has welcomed numerous visits, presentations and media interviews over the years. The Aurora Forecast 3D app continues to gain attention, with a rating of 4.2 from 293 reviewers and more than 100k downloads on Google Play. On Apple iOS, it holds a rating of 4.6 from 12 reviewers with 613 downloads. The app is particularly popular within the auroral tourism sector and the amateur radio community. KHO's Facebook page currently has over 1.7k followers, reflecting steady public interest. In addition, the Aurora Field Guide and Handbook for Citizen Science has achieved 142 downloads and 523 views.

In June, the University of Tromsø (UiT) visited KHO, bringing guests from the leaderships of the Norwegian youth parties. The visit was part of the annual cruise with RS Helmer Hansen, where decision makers and politicians are taught about Svalbard in terms of nature, climate and geopolitics. The event was organized to emphasize the importance and uniqueness of infrastructures in Adventdalen to study geospace for both space physics and space weather.

Purpose
The Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO) is dedicated to studying processes in the magnetospheric cusp and across the polar cap boundary. Our core mission is to understand the effects of solar-magnetospheric interactions on Earth's atmosphere. Leveraging our unique location and advanced multi-disciplinary infrastructure - including radars and optical systems - we can observe the entire atmospheric vertical column, providing critical insights into space and planetary weather.

Goals

• Instrumental Development: Continuous upgrading and comparison of instruments as new technologies and knowledge emerge.
• Collaboration: Strengthen partnerships with existing research groups and attract new collaborators.
• Campaign Participation: Position the observatory as a leading partner for large-scale rocket and satellite missions, both instrumentally and observationally.

Internal Funding
Access to internal UNIS research funding is vital and important for:

• Preserving instrumental momentum.
• Tracking and integrating emerging technologies.
• Seeding research plans and proposals.

Unlike external funding, which is often tied to predefined tasks, internal funding provides strategic flexibility essential for maintaining KHO's leadership in space science.

The report to the Norwegian Parliament no. 26 acknowledge our activity. In Section 4.5.3 - Space ventures in Svalbard, Text box 4.4, KHO, SuperDARN, EISCAT and Andøya Space are recognized as part of a world-leading space weather research platform:

We are happy together with our partners for this recognition and will continue to serve and improve our aurora forecasts and data to the public.

The threats to KHO remain unchanged as identified in the last six-yearly reports. Mine 7 is now closed. SNSK (Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani) is shutting it down and cleaning the surrounding area after several decades of operation. The future use of the remaining infrastructure such as main entrance building, tool shops, garages and the emergency generator has not reached a conclusion.

Today, we depend on access up the mountain and a garage that we hire at Mine 7 for the bandwagon. The maintenance cost of the road up the mountain was estimated during a meeting in November with SNSK and the other users of the mountain: UNIS, KHO, SuperDARN and EISCAT. The results has been reported to our politicians for a final decision. Alternatives, if the road is abounded, are listed in previous yearly reports, and will not be repeated here.

The second battle is light pollution. After consultation with Visit Svalbard, it was recommended that we apply dialog instead of confrontation in the media. As a consequence, an on-line meeting was arranged with the dog yards to address possible solutions. But no one turned up to the meeting! Nevertheless, we discussed with Visit Svalbard possible solutions including shielding of outdoor lamps and power OFF during the night and early morning, when the dogs should sleep. To our pleasant surprise, this tactic was applied during the RENU-3 rocket campaign.

It's hope in a hanging snore. Fishing-snore! (N. A. Eggen)

A future concern for KHO operations is the local government's plan to install a 48-meter-high weather station mast on Breinosa to study wind and icing conditions over the next decade for a potential wind power project. While the mast is promised to be built without a navigation light- due to its proximity to the field of view of our camera systems - any direct or even scattered light in the vicinity of the observatory would destroy our measurements.

Furthermore, a wind turbine within the line-of-sight of the SuperDARN radar would render the system ineffective, as it relies on detecting weak signals from electrons in the ionosphere. The same applies to the EISCAT radar. A large rotating metal blade in our field of view is not something that can be dealt with.

Overall, the project appears to be based on unrealistic optimism regarding wind conditions on Svalbard, assuming they are stable and strong enough for efficient wind power generation. Moreover, previous annual reports have documented extreme icing conditions, which pose significant challenges for such infrastructure.

Our concerns must be taken seriously to safeguard KHO's mandate from the Norwegian Parliament to operate an auroral observatory and to ensure responsible use of taxpayer contributions.

A growing concern is the lack of sufficient personnel for daily operations at the observatory. The Chief of KHO is not getting any younger, and our engineering resources are limited. Currently, the instrumental engineer allocates 25% of his time to SuperDARN, 25% to KHO, and the remaining 50% to OFS (UNIS division for Operations Field Safety). This arrangement is not optimal as UNIS prioritizes safety training and courses over instrument and infrastructure development and maintenance, resulting in reduced engineering support during December and January - our peak observational season. On the other hand, UNIS IT and OSF have provided excellent support when emergencies occurs with network and transportation - bandwagon breakdowns.

Compared to other Arctic stations, which typically employ at least two full-time technical support positions, KHO is clearly undermanned. Sharing the instrumental engineering position with OFS continues to pose operational challenges.

Note that we are ready to hire new educated youths and provide experience at a second to none observatory. It is an excellent opportunity to give people work and train the next generation.

Activity at KHO was high throughout 2025. The observatory has been fully operational since the start of the optical season in November and continues to attract the international space science community, hosting 23 external groups from 10 nations. Two new instruments were installed during the year, and the major highlight was the successful RENU-3 rocket campaign. 2 students utilized our facilities and data, which were essential for their graduation. However, we face a pressing need for additional technical personnel to support daily operations of our world-class optical equipment.

1. Danny Vogels, Analysis of electron precipitation from auroral optical and radar ta data measured during different types of pulsating aurora, External internship UNIS / Eindhoven University of Technology, 2025.
2. Tim Hulsen, Revealing the correlation between fat space weather and fat continuum emission, External internship UNIS / Eindhoven University of Technology, 2025.

1. Katie Herlingshaw, Noora Partamies, Charlotte M. van Hazendonk, Mikko Syrjäsuo, Lisa J. Baddeley, Magnar G. Johnsen, Nina K. Eriksen, Ian McWhirter, Anasuya Aruliah, Mark J. Engebretson, Kjellmar Oksavik, Fred Sigernes, Dag A. Lorentzen, Takanori Nishiyama, Matthew B. Cooper, John Meriwether, Stein Haaland, and Daniel Whiter. 2025. Science highlights from the Kjell Henriksen Observatory on Svalbard. Arctic Science. 11: 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2024-0009
2. Fred Sigernes, Roger Birkeland, Joseph Landon Garrett, Henrik Øvrebø, Håvard Brovold, Sivert Bakken, Gaspar Mougin-Trichon, and Tor Arne Johansen, "Near infra-red black silicon pushbroom hyperspectral imager," Opt. Continuum 4, 454-465 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTCON.549308
3. Partamies, N., Dayton-Oxland, R., Herlingshaw, K., Virtanen, I., Gallardo-Lacourt, B., Syrjäsuo, M., Sigernes, F., Nishiyama, T., Nishimura, T., Barthelemy, M., Aruliah, A., Whiter, D., Mielke, L., Grandin, M., Karvinen, E., Spijkers, M., and Ledvina, V. E.: First observations of continuum emission in dayside aurora, Ann. Geophys., 43, 349-367 (2025), https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-349-2025
4. Nishiyama, T., Kagitani, M., Bag, T., Tsuda, T. T., Iwasa, Y., Ogawa, Y., and Sigernes, F., Thermospheric orthohelium, He(23S), variations associated with a moderate storm in February 2023: The NIRAS-2 observations at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (78.1^oN, 16.0^oE), Svalbard. Space Weather, 23, e2024SW004161 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1029/2024SW004161
5. L.-X. Zhao, Q.-H. Zhang, X.-A. Yue, J.-H. He, Y. Wang, Z.-Y. Xing, X. Zhou, Y.-Z. Ma, P. T. Jayachandran, K. Oksavik, L. Lyons, T. Xu, and S.-J. Sun (2025), A Regional 3-D Data Assimilation Model for the Ionospheric Electron Density at Middle-to-High Latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, Space Weather, 23, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025SW004340
6. L. M. Buschmann, K. Asamura, L. B. N. Clausen, Y. Jin, H. Kojima, A. Kumamoto, S. Kurita, Y. Ogawa, K. Oksavik, Y. Saito, A. Spicher, S. Yokota, and W. J. Miloch (2025), Plasma structuring within an expanded polar cap and cusp studied with the SS-520-3 sounding rocket, Earth Planets Space, 77, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02189-73
7. N. K. Eriksen, Y. Nishimura, M. Zettergren, D. A. Lorentzen, K. Oksavik, L. J. Baddeley, K. Hosokawa, K. Shiokawa, L. Lamarche, M. E. Redden, and A. Bhatt (2025), Evolution and decay of a stable and a dynamic airglow patch, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 275, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2025.106593
8. N. Brindley, M. Madhanakumar, A. Spicher, D. Whiter, K. Oksavik, and Y. Ogawa (2025), Intense Dynamic Optical Auroral Sub-Structure as a Proxy for Ionospheric Density Irregularities, Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics, 130, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JA033999
9. D. Zhang, J. Wang, K. Oksavik, Q.-H. Zhang, Z.-Y. Xing, X.-Y. Wang, L. R. Lyons, J.-J. Zhang, H.-G. Yang, Y. Wang, Y.-Z. Ma, B.-L. Zhao, S. Lu, Z.-F. Xiu, J.-C. Zhao, and Y.-J. Sun (2025), Multi-Instrument Observations of the Relationships between Polar Cap Patches and Arcs for Changing IMF Bz Orientation, Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics, 130, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JA034186
10. C.M. van Hazendonk, L. Baddeley, K.M. Laundal, D.A. Lorentzen, A statistical study of optical signatures of high-latitude Pc5 waves, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 274, 2025,106585, ISSN 1364-6826, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2025.106585
11. Nanjo, S., Herlingshaw, K., Sergienko, T., Cessateur, G., Partamies, N., Johnsen, M. G., Hosokawa, K., Lamy, H., Ogawa, Y., Kero, A., Oyama, S.-I., and Yamauchi, M., "Observations of Fragmented Aurora-like Emissions and Picket Fence on the Poleward Edge of the Auroral Oval", Annales Geophysicae (2025), https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4560
12. Cribb, V., T. I. Pulkkinen, L. Kepko, B. Gallardo-Lacourt, N. Partamies, M. Vokhmyanin, and S. Apatenkov, "Inner Magnetospheric and Geomagnetic Responses to Solar Wind Driving During Omega Band Events", JGR Space Physics, 130, 11 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JA033987
13. Nakamura, R., Dudok de Wit, T., Jones, G. H., Taylor, M. G. G. T., Andre, N. C., Goetz, C., Ha- did, L. Z., Hayes, L. A., Hietala, H., Jackman, C. M., Kepko, L., Marchaudon, A., Masters, A., Owens, M., Partamies, N., Poedts, S., Rae, J., Shprits, Y., Temmer, M., Verscharen, D., and Wimmer- Schweingruber, R. F. "Establishing a European Heliophysics Community (EHC)", Annales Geophysicae, 43, 855 - 879 (2025), https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-855-2025
14. Juusola, L., Virtanen, I., Hatch, S. M., Vanhamaki, H., Grandin, M., Partamies, N., Ganse, U., Honko- nen, I., Workayehu, A., Kero, A., and Palmroth, M., "An empirical model of high-latitude ionospheric conductances based on EISCAT observations", Annales Geophysicae, 43, 755 - 781 (2025), https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-43-755-2025
15. Harvey, L., Aggarwal, D., Becker, E., Bittner, M., Funke, B., Goncharenko, L., Jia, J., Lieberman, R., Liu, H.-L., Maliniemi, V., Marhcaudon, A., Nesse, H., Partamies, N., Pedatella, N., Schmidt, C., Shi, G., Stephan, C. C., Stober, G., van Caspel, W., Wust, S., and Yamazaki, Y., "Signatures of Polar Vortex Weakening in the MLTI: A Review", Surveys in Geophysics (2025), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-025-09899-3
16. Kramer, E., Hamrin, M., Gunell, H., Baddeley, L., Partamies, N., Raptis, S., Helingshaw, K., and Schillings, A., "Magnetosheath Jet-Triggered ULF Waves: Energy Deposition in the Ionosphere", Journal of Geophysical Research, 103, 4 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JA033792
17. Grandin, M., Ledvina, V. E., Musset, S., Partamies, N., Frissell, N. A., Bruus, E., Nicoll, K. A., Mkrtchyan, H., Gallardo-Lacourt, B., Alfonsi, L., Jonassen, M. O., Whiter, D., Helsingshaw, K., Enengl, F., Jia, J., Kosar, B., Evans, L. P., Haberle, V., Laundal, K. M., and Barthelemy, M., "Citizen Science in Space and Atmospheric Sciences: Opportunities and Challenges", Surveys in Geophysics, 130, 4 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-025-09888-6
18. Taguchi, S., Oigawa, T., Nagafusa, Y., Shinagawa, H., Hosokawa, K., Ogawa, Y. and Koike, H., Suppression of ion heating in the cusp during plasma flow burst. Earth Planets Space 77, 136 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02264-z
19. Other relevant network publications: Fluxgate Magnetometer data (TGO) - International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE), https://space.fmi.fi/image/www/index.php?page=publications

1. Mikkel Breedveld and Stein Haaland, Forsvinner nordlyset fra Svalbard?, Svalbardposten, 30 Januar 2025.
2. Maria Philippa Rossi, Fikk kontakt med Jannicke, Svalbardposten, 3 April 2025.
3. Line Nagell Ylvisåker, Fulgte Jannickes landing fra Longyearbyen, Svalbardposten, 4 April 2025.
4. Ingrid Ballari Nilssen, KHO - at the centre of global auroral research, UNIS News, October 2025.

1. T. Nishiyama, M. Kagitani, T. T. Tsuda, N. Partamies, P. Dalin, D. Whiter, Y. Iwasa, Y. Ogawa, and F. Sigernes, Spectroscopic and Imaging Observations at 1.05 - 1.35 μm for Aurora and Airglow from the Upper Mesosphere to the Lower Exosphere at Longyearbyen, Svalbard, 8th International Symposium on Arctic Research (ISAR-8), Tokyo, Japan, October 28-31, 2025
2. D. Zhang, Q.-H. Zhang, K. Oksavik, B.-B. Tang, Y.-L. Zhang, M. Lockwood, J. Foster, S. Zhang, L. Lyons, Z.-Y. Xing, Y. Wang, and Y.-Z. Ma, A "wave-like" Evolution of Polar Cap Patches Modulated by Enhanced Magnetopause Reconnection and Extended Magnetotail Reconnection, AOGS 2025 Meeting, Abstract ST18-A002, Singapore, July 27 - August 1, 2025.
3. Z.-Y. Xing, Q.-H. Zhang, K. Oksavik, L. Lyons, S. Zhang, P. T. Jayachandran, Y. Zhang, Z. Hu, Y.-Z. Ma, Y. Wang, and S. Lu, Evolution Characteristics of Polar Cap Patches Entering the Nightside Auroral Oval, AOGS 2025 Meeting, Abstract ST16-A010, Singapore, July 27 - August 1, 2025. - INVITED
4. M. Madhanakumar, A. Spicher, D. R. Huyghebaert, A. Kashcheyev, L. Spogli, K. Oksavik, M. F. Ivarsen, J. Vierinen, and G. C. Hussey, Observations of irregularities with scales from 3 meters to several hundreds of kilometers during the May 2024 Superstorm, 2025 CEDAR Workshop, Des Moines, Iowa, USA, June 22 - 27, 2025.
5. Gerard Fasel, David Sibeck and SUN Lee, Influence of Space Weather on Solar-Terrestrial Interactions, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
6. Daniel T Welling, Amy Rewoldt, Ari Gottesman, Pauline Marie Dredger and Gerard J Fasel, Exploring the Unusual Day Side Aurora of January 3, 2020 (invited), AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
7. SUN Lee, David G Sibeck, Gerard J Fasel and Nick Omidi, Solar Wind Discontinuities and Foreshock Transients Driving Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
8. Jason Press, Gerard J Fasel, Fabien Scalzo, S. H. Lee, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, AI and Dayside Aurora BACC Data, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
9. Gonzalo Cucho-Padin, David G Sibeck, Daniel da Silva and Cristian Ferradas, Investigation of ion fluxes in the high-to-low altitude cusp and their response to solar wind conditions using a machine learning approach (invited), AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
10. Jihyeon Son and Young-Sil Kwak,Time-Resolved Causal Analysis of Geomagnetic Storms by Information Theory, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
11. Timothy F. Carel, Gerard J Fasel, S. H. Lee, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, Impact of long periods of high density solar wind on dayside aurora, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
12. Amrin N. Kamaal, Makena Swenski, Gerard J Fasel, S. H. Lee, D. Sibeck, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, Dayside Magnetic Reconnection, From Pre- through Post- Magnetic Noon During Various IMF Configurations, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
13. Makena Swenski, Amrin N. Kamaal, Andrea Black, Gerard J Fasel, S. H. Lee, D. Sibeck, Nick Omidi, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, Ionospheric Anatomy of a Hot Flow Anomaly, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
14. Taiel J Ramirez, Gerard J Fasel, S. H. Lee, D. Sibeck, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, Origin of Throat Aurora and the PMAF Connection, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
15. Taiel J Ramirez, Gerard J Fasel, S. H. Lee, D. Sibeck, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, Evolution of North-South Aligned Dayside Auroral Arcs, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
16. Amrin N. Kamaal, Gerard J Fasel, Daniel Welling, Taiel J Ramirez, Makena Swenski, S. H. Lee, D. Sibeck, Jason Press, Alan Yang, Serdar Akalin, Mason Woolfolk, Wyatt Farrar, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, Observations of an Unusual Reconnection Event on 3 January 2020, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
17. Kaleb B McElfish, Blake Eecklor, Gerard J Fasel, S. H. Lee, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, Dayside Auroral Pulsations, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
18. Dora Csonge, Andrea Black, Gerard J Fasel, S. H. Lee, J. Mann, F. Sigernes, and D. Lorentzen, The Dayside-Nightside Auroral Connection, AGU, December 15 - 19, New Orleans, 2025.
19. Takanori NISHIYAMA, Masato KAGITANI, Takuo TSUDA, Noora PARTAMIES, Daniel WHITER, Yuki IWASA, Yasunobu OGAWA, Fred SIGERNES, Short-wavelength Infrared Spectroscopic and Imaging Observations for Aurora and Airglow from the Upper Mesosphere to the Exosphere, AOGS 2025 Meeting, Abstract ST08-A004, Singapore, July 27 - August 1, 2025. - INVITED
20. Takanori NISHIYAMA, Masato KAGITANI, Takuo TSUDA, Yuki IWASA, Yasunobu OGAWA, Fred SIGERNES, The First Simultaneous Spectroscopic and Monochromatic Imaging Observations of N₂⁺ Meinel (0,0) Band at 1.1 μm with Incoherent Scatter Radar, AOGS 2025 Meeting, Abstract ST08-A012, Singapore, July 27 - August 1, 2025.

Copilot is used to help rewrite some paragraphs to sound more professional and formal. Note that the publication list is expected to increase with feedback from all the instrumental groups.