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When will the northern lights be visible again? NOAA's tool outage makes forecasting harder
NOAA directed aurora watchers to its three-day forecast and 30-minute model as the outage removed a map used to gauge visibility.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed on April 3 that The Aurora Timeline Viewer Product is unavailable due to an outage. NOAA stated, "The Aurora Timeline Viewer Product will be unavailable until further notice."
- NOAA uses the planetary K index, or Kp, to measure geomagnetic activity. Energetic solar winds collide with gases in Earth's atmosphere, releasing light that creates auroras.
- The Space Weather Prediction Center directed users to the three-day forecast, updated twice daily. Other tools like the 30-minute forecast model can also be used for northern light visibility.
- NOAA provided instructions on using three-day forecast data to estimate visibility. "By matching the forecast Kp value in that product with the auroral southern perimeter generalization noted here, you can ascertain an idea of just how far south the aurora might be noted."
- Geomagnetic activity levels range from 0 to 9 on the Kp scale. While lower levels keep auroras far north, higher Kp values significantly expand visibility, potentially reaching the northern edge of the United States.
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14 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center13Last UpdatedBias Distribution93% Center
Bias Distribution
- 93% of the sources are Center
93% Center
C 93%
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