Night Sky Platform
Space Weather
Space weather — solar flares and geomagnetic storms — explained with the standard NOAA scales. Live activity is prepared for NASA DONKI and NOAA SWPC; no current alerts are fabricated.
Night SkyReference data
Solar flare classes
Flares are ranked A–B–C–M–X by X-ray brightness, each class ten times stronger than the last. Solar flares in detail →
- Class A
- Background level; negligible effects.
- Class B
- Minor; no noticeable effects.
- Class C
- Small flares with few noticeable consequences.
- Class M
- Medium flares; can cause brief radio blackouts and minor radiation storms.
- Class X
- The most intense flares; can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and strong radiation storms.
Geomagnetic storm scale
NOAA ranks geomagnetic storms G1–G5. Geomagnetic storms in detail →
- G1
- Minor: weak power-grid fluctuations; aurora at high latitudes.
- G2
- Moderate: aurora reaches mid-high latitudes.
- G3
- Strong: aurora at mid-latitudes; possible satellite and navigation effects.
- G4
- Severe: widespread aurora and grid/navigation impacts.
- G5
- Extreme: aurora far from the poles; major infrastructure risk.
Related in the Knowledge Graph
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NOAA SWPCNOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
Space-weather forecasts and alerts: aurora (OVATION), the Kp index, and the G1–G5 geomagnetic storm scale.
- NASA DONKINASA Community Coordinated Modeling Center
The Space Weather Database Of Notifications, Knowledge, Information: solar flares, CMEs, and geomagnetic storms.