According to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration update.
This is a forecast for the aurora borealis’ location and intensity over North America tonight and tomorrow. Additionally, it displays a ‘viewline’ that denotes the southernmost points from which the northern horizon aurora can be seen.
The greatest forecast geomagnetic activity (Kp) between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. US Central Time is used in this product, which is based on the OVATION model.
When “tomorrow night” turns into “tonight” at 12:00Z (that is, within an hour of the conclusion of the 6pm–6am Central Time window that is used here to define “night”), the photos are refreshed continually.
The viewline and aurora are depicted on the two maps for tonight and tomorrow evening. Usually, the aurora’s location and brightness are depicted as a green oval with the Earth’s magnetic pole at its centre. When a stronger aurora is predicted, the green ovals turn red.
On Earth, auroras are frequently visible from shortly after sunset until shortly before daybreak. During the day, it is impossible to see the aurora.
When the aurora is brilliant and the conditions are ideal, it can be seen up to 1000 kilometres distant, so it doesn’t have to be directly overhead.
The Aurora 30-Minute Forecast page shows the latest 24 hours of activity as well as a short-term forecast (~30 minutes).
Additionally, SWPC’s new Aurora Dashboard (Experimental) serves as a one-stop shop by compiling information and items from all across the company’s website.
