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🧲 The Kp Index Explained

An interactive 3D globe showing how ground magnetometer stations around the world are combined into the planetary Kp index, and how a rising Kp value pushes the auroral oval down toward lower latitudes.

Planetary Sciences & Astrogeology3DAdvanced60 FPS

A 3D globe ringed by twelve stand-in magnetometer observatories and a glowing auroral oval that expands toward the equator as the planetary Kp index climbs from quiet to extreme storm levels.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Kp is derived by averaging local K-index disturbance readings from stations scattered across magnetic latitudes worldwide; as Kp rises, disturbance spreads from polar stations down toward the equator, and the auroral oval's edge follows the same equatorward push.

🎮 How to Use

Drag the Kp slider from 0 to 9 and watch which observatories light up and how far the oval creeps down. Set an observer latitude to check whether the aurora would be visible from that location, or let "Simulate rising storm" animate a full storm cycle.

💡 Did You Know?

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center reuses Kp directly as its G-scale: G1 (Minor) starts at Kp 5, and G5 (Extreme) at Kp 9 — the level reached during the May 2024 storm that carried aurora as far south as Mexico and southern Europe.

⚙ Under the hood

aurora borealismagnetometrykp indexgeomagnetyzmspace weatherThree.js

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install