Question 1

Is there a solar flare happening right now?

Accepted Answer

Orbital Radar's Sun globe shows the live GOES X-ray flux and classifies the current flare level (A, B, C, M or X) from NOAA SWPC data. When an M- or X-class flare fires, the responsible active region flags on the globe and the event log updates in real time.

Question 2

What is the Sun doing today?

Accepted Answer

The globe shows today's space weather at a glance: solar wind speed and density, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF Bz), the planetary Kp index, sunspot number and F10.7 radio flux, plus the NOAA G/R/S storm scales — all from live NOAA SWPC feeds.

Question 3

Could there be aurora tonight?

Accepted Answer

If an Earth-facing active region flares and launches a coronal mass ejection, it can spark aurora a day or two later. The Sun globe links straight to Orbital Radar's aurora forecast, which estimates visibility for your location from the live Kp index and the NOAA OVATION model.

Question 4

How close is the Parker Solar Probe to the Sun right now?

Accepted Answer

The globe tracks NASA's Parker Solar Probe, ESA's Solar Orbiter, STEREO-A and BepiColombo on live NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris, showing each spacecraft's current distance from the Sun. Parker dips within about 6.1 million kilometres of the surface at closest approach.

Question 5

What do the wavelengths (171 Å, 193 Å, 304 Å, HMI) mean?

Accepted Answer

Each is a different view of the Sun from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory: 171 Å shows the quiet corona (about 600,000 K), 193 Å the hotter corona and coronal holes, 211 Å active-region plasma, 304 Å the chromosphere and filaments, and HMI the visible surface with its sunspots.

Question 6

Is the Orbital Radar Sun globe free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Sun globe is free to explore in any modern web browser with WebGL, with no account or download required.

Question 7

How is the Sun globe kept accurate?

Accepted Answer

Live space-weather metrics come from NOAA SWPC, near-side imagery from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, and spacecraft positions from NASA JPL Horizons. The near side is shown from live data; because no spacecraft continuously images the far side, the far hemisphere is physically modelled — labelled honestly on the globe.

The Sun, in 3D

X-ray flux · flares

Vital signs

Sun-watchers · live

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