Space Weather Today
Space weather is the changing state of the Sun and of Earth’s magnetic environment. It decides whether the aurora reaches your sky, whether radio signals fade, and how much drag and radiation the International Space Station and other satellites experience. This page turns NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center data into a plain-language dashboard: how disturbed the magnetic field is right now, where the aurora is glowing in both hemispheres, and how active the Sun has been over the last day.
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Geomagnetic activity: past day and next three days
The aurora oval right now
Colour shows the modelled chance of aurora from green (5%) through yellow to red (50% and above). Rings mark latitude every 10°; the 0° meridian is at the top, and a blue dot marks your saved location if it is inside the view. For a world map with the oval drawn over it, switch on the Aurora button on the live tracker.
What the Kp index means
Kp is a number from 0 to 9 describing how disturbed Earth’s magnetic field is, averaged over three-hour windows from a network of ground magnetometers. Below 4 is quiet to unsettled. At 5 and above NOAA calls it a geomagnetic storm and grades it on a G scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). The stronger the storm, the further from the poles the aurora spreads.
| Kp | NOAA level | Typical aurora and effects |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | Quiet to unsettled | Aurora confined to the far north and south, near the Arctic and Antarctic circles. |
| 4 | Active | Aurora strengthens at high latitudes; a little further toward the equator. |
| 5 | G1 minor storm | Aurora commonly visible at high latitudes, such as the northern edge of the United States. |
| 6 | G2 moderate | Aurora can reach mid-latitude regions such as New York or Idaho. |
| 7 | G3 strong | Aurora may be seen as far south as Illinois and Oregon; some satellite and radio effects. |
| 8 | G4 severe | Aurora possible as low as Alabama and northern California; power-grid and navigation effects. |
| 9 | G5 extreme | Aurora reaching Florida and southern Texas, rare but spectacular; widespread technology impacts. |
Those latitudes are NOAA’s rule of thumb for North America. What really matters is geomagnetic latitude, which is why the oval maps above are more useful than a number alone: they show where the aurora actually is, for any longitude.
Solar flares and radio blackouts
The Sun’s X-ray output is measured by GOES satellites and graded on a logarithmic scale of five letters: A, B, C, M and X, each ten times stronger than the last. A flare labelled M1.2 is 1.2 times the M threshold. C-class flares are routine; M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts on the sunlit side of Earth (NOAA’s R1 level begins at M1), and X-class flares can cause wider disruption. The tile above shows the strongest flare in the last 24 hours alongside the current background level.
How to see the aurora
- Get dark and clear. Moonlight and city lights wash out faint displays. Check the cloud-cover forecast for your area before driving anywhere.
- Look toward the pole. From the northern hemisphere face north (south in the southern hemisphere), because the oval sits poleward of you unless a strong storm moves it overhead.
- Be patient. Displays pulse; a quiet sky can brighten within minutes. Giving your eyes 15 to 20 minutes to adapt helps a lot.
- Use a phone or camera. Night mode and long exposures often reveal green colour the eye cannot see.
Space weather and the ISS
The station orbits at about 51.6° inclination, so it flies below the oval mainly during strong storms. Even so, storms matter to it: heating of the upper atmosphere increases drag, and radiation levels rise for the crew, who also photograph the aurora from orbit by looking down on it. To see the station’s position now, open the live ISS map, or meet the people aboard on the crew page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Kp index?
A 0–9 measure of how disturbed Earth’s magnetic field is, averaged over three hours. Five or more is a geomagnetic storm.
What Kp do I need to see the aurora?
Near the Arctic Circle you can see it on most dark clear nights even at low Kp; at mid-latitudes you generally need Kp 6 or more. The live oval maps above show where it is right now.
What do the solar flare classes mean?
They are ten-fold steps in peak X-ray brightness: A, B, C, M, X. C is common and harmless; M and X can cause radio blackouts.
Does space weather affect the ISS?
Yes: storms raise radiation and increase atmospheric drag on low-orbit satellites, including the station.
See the aurora oval drawn directly on the live world map, with the ISS and its ground track.
Open the live tracker Where is the ISS right now?