Space Weather
A window into the activity shaping our night sky.
The solar corona
Bright active regions and darker coronal holes in extreme ultraviolet.
Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. Observation time is printed in the image.Source & imagery ↗Checking activity…
Kp tracks planetary geomagnetic activity. Local aurora visibility also needs darkness, clear skies and the right location.
NOAA storm scales
What do these mean? ↗Aurora outlook
Auroral oval
Near-term auroral activity, not a cloud or local visibility forecast. NOAA prints the model’s valid time and viewing boundary on the map.
Next three days
Peak forecast Kp in each UTC day, including near-term estimates. Not a promise of aurora at your location.
Three-hour forecast windows
For northern observers, a dark, unobstructed view helps. In the southern hemisphere, look south. Check the oval, cloud and darkness together.
Live measurements
Solar wind
Loading measurements…
Speed at the active upstream spacecraft—not an arrival time at Earth.
Interplanetary magnetic field
Bz · teal / Bt · greyLoading measurements…
Bz below zero points south and can favour stronger coupling with Earth’s field.
Solar X-ray flux
0.1–0.8 nm · W/m²Loading measurements…
GOES long-channel flux on a logarithmic scale. The current level is not a confirmed flare event.
Planetary Kp
Kp · 0–9Loading measurements…
Three-hour observed / estimated activity. Storm levels begin at Kp 5.
Recent bulletins
Recent notices can have expired or been superseded. Open the bulletin for its issue time and validity.
Sunspot regions
| Region | Position | Magnetic class | Spots |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loading daily report… | |||
A quick field guide
What makes a good aurora setup?
Watch the auroral oval and the trend in geomagnetic activity, then check local darkness and cloud. Stronger solar wind and sustained southward Bz can be favourable, but Kp alone cannot give you a reliable chance of seeing aurora from a particular spot.
Solar flare or coronal mass ejection?
A flare is a burst of radiation. A CME is an eruption of plasma and magnetic field. They can occur together, but an X-ray spike does not tell us that material is heading for Earth. Use official forecasts and coronagraph observations for context.
Why do the charts have gaps?
Spacecraft can have missing, flagged or interrupted measurements. We leave gaps instead of inventing values. Solar wind follows NOAA’s active spacecraft; imagery and daily reports have their own update cadence.
What do the Sun’s colours mean?
SDO’s ultraviolet views use false colour to show different wavelengths. The intensitygram shows sunspots, while the magnetogram shows the magnetic field. These are spacecraft images—not views to copy by looking at the Sun. Never observe the Sun through unfiltered optics.