Space Weather & Aurora Forecast
Negative (southward) Bz pushes auroras toward lower latitudes.
Aurora visibility verdict
Northern hemisphere
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Southern hemisphere
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Data: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (Kp, DSCOVR plasma & magnetometer), refreshed every 5 minutes.
From sunspot to sky show
The ten-segment LED meter converts the technical Kp number into an instant quiet-to-extreme verdict with color-coded severity.
Wind speed, proton density and the signed Bz component stream live from NOAA's DSCOVR spacecraft at the L1 point between Sun and Earth.
Every reading is translated into a minimum latitude for both hemispheres, so you immediately know whether tonight could bring auroras where you live.
How Solar Wind Becomes an Aurora
Auroras begin at the Sun. Every second, the solar wind — a million-degree plasma of protons and electrons — streams away from the solar corona at 300 to 800 kilometers per second. When that wind reaches Earth one to three days later, most of it flows around our magnetosphere like a river around a rock. But if its embedded magnetic field points southward (a negative Bz), it can connect with Earth's own field on the day side, loading energy that is suddenly released down the magnetotail toward the poles.
The ingredients of a display
- 🌌 Fast solar wind — coronal hole streams push speeds above 600 km/s
- 🧭 Southward Bz — sustained negative readings open the energy valve
- 📊 Elevated Kp — ground magnetometers confirm the storm reached your longitude
- 🌑 Dark, clear skies — no instrument can substitute for these two
Charged particles funnel along field lines into the upper atmosphere, where they make oxygen glow green and crimson and nitrogen glow purple. The Kp-to-latitude rule of thumb used here (roughly 67° at Kp 0 sliding about 3 degrees equatorward per unit) is a statistical guide, not a promise — substorms can brighten the sky far beyond the average boundary for minutes at a time.
FAQ
How Solar Wind Becomes an Aurora
Auroras begin at the Sun. Every second, the solar wind — a million-degree plasma of protons and electrons — streams away from the solar corona at 300 to 800 kilometers per second. When that wind reaches Earth one to three days later, most of it flows around our magnetosphere like a river around a rock. But if its embedded magnetic field points southward (a negative Bz), it can connect with Earth's own field on the day side, loading energy that is suddenly released down the magnetotail toward the poles.
The ingredients of a display
- 🌌 Fast solar wind — coronal hole streams push speeds above 600 km/s
- 🧭 Southward Bz — sustained negative readings open the energy valve
- 📊 Elevated Kp — ground magnetometers confirm the storm reached your longitude
- 🌑 Dark, clear skies — no instrument can substitute for these two
Charged particles funnel along field lines into the upper atmosphere, where they make oxygen glow green and crimson and nitrogen glow purple. The Kp-to-latitude rule of thumb used here (roughly 67° at Kp 0 sliding about 3 degrees equatorward per unit) is a statistical guide, not a promise — substorms can brighten the sky far beyond the average boundary for minutes at a time.
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