What's New in Spot The Aurora!
We've been hard at work making your aurora chasing experience simpler, smarter, and more powerful. This is one of our biggest updates yet, packed with new features and quality-of-life improvements based on your feedback. Here’s what’s new:


✨ Introducing the All-New "Simple View"
The Forecast page now has two modes! It defaults to a brand new Simple View, designed to give you the most important information at a glance. No more deciphering complex charts to know if you should head out!

• Clear, At-a-Glance Status: We've replaced the complex panel with a huge forecast score and a simple, emoji-driven status:
  • 🤩 Huge Aurora Visible (80%+)
  • 👁️ Eye Visibility Possible (50%+)
  • 📱 Phone Visibility Possible (35%+)
  • 📷 Camera Visibility Possible (20%+)
  • 😐 Minimal Activity (10%+)
  • 😞 No Aurora Expected (<10%)
• Actionable Advice: A clear, one-sentence recommendation tells you exactly what to do (e.g., "GO NOW!", "STAY INDOORS.", "WORTH A LOOK.").
• Smarter Confidence Gauge: The "Confidence" gauge, based on the substorm forecast, now only appears when the aurora score is 10% or higher, reducing clutter on quiet nights.
• Community Front and Center: The live Aurora Sightings map is now a core part of the Simple View, so you can immediately see what others are reporting.

For our data-loving veterans, don't worry! The original, data-rich dashboard is still there. Just click the "Advanced View" button to see all the detailed charts and graphs you know and love.

💥 Upgraded Interplanetary Shock (IPS) & Solar Flare Alerts
​This is a game-changer for serious aurora chasers. The arrival of an interplanetary shock is the "starter pistol" for a geomagnetic storm.

• New Interplanetary Shocks Panel: The Solar Activity dashboard now features a list of recent interplanetary shocks detected by NASA satellites, so you can see exactly when a CME has arrived.
• High-Priority Banner: When a shock arrives, a new, high-priority red banner will appear at the top of the app.
• Instant Data: This banner now includes the critical post-shock solar wind conditions (Speed, Bt, and Bz), so you know immediately if the impact was effective.
• Smarter Notifications: Push notifications for shock arrivals will also include this vital solar wind data, giving you the full picture without even opening the app.

📊 Enhanced Data & Dashboards

• Official Forecast Models: We've added a new modal in the CME Visualization section that displays official forecast models (like WSA-ENLIL and HUXT) from agencies like NASA, NOAA, and ESA. This allows you to compare our simple visualization with real, predictive forecasts.
• 24-Hour Solar Summary: The Solar Activity page now features a comprehensive 24-hour summary, showing the peak X-ray flux, total flare counts by class, and peak proton flux.
• Improved Sighting Reports: You can now report clear skies with no aurora for different camera types (Naked Eye, Phone, DSLR). This is incredibly valuable data for the community!

🛠️ App Improvements & User Experience

• Better Installation on Mobile: For users browsing on Facebook or Instagram, a new banner will now appear to guide you on how to open the site in your main browser (like Safari or Chrome) so you can properly install the app to your home screen.
• Upgraded Tutorials: Both the first-visit and the CME Modeler tutorials have been expanded with more detailed steps and clearer explanations to help new users get started.
• Performance & Reliability: We've refactored our data services to use a more robust proxy system, leading to faster and more reliable data loading across the entire application.

This major V1.0 update focuses on enhancing user experience with new tutorials, significant performance optimizations, and a completely overhauled, user-configurable push notification system. The application is now more polished, faster, and more engaging for both new and returning users.
​

• What Changed: A new, dedicated tutorial for the CME Visualization page has been added.
  • User Impact: (NEW) When you visit the CME Visualization page for the first time, you will now get a specific guided tour explaining its unique controls, such as the timeline, view settings, and the new screenshot feature. This makes the most complex part of the app much easier to learn.
• What Changed: The application's push notification system has been completely rebuilt. It now sends user-specific notification preferences to the server.
  • User Impact: (IMPROVEMENT) You now have granular control over which push notifications you receive (e.g., only for >60% aurora alerts, or only for X-class solar flares). Your preferences are saved to your subscription, ensuring you only get the alerts you care about. The system also includes new diagnostic and self-test tools in the Settings panel to ensure notifications are working correctly for your device.
• What Changed: The main index.html file was heavily optimized for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and initial load performance.
  • User Impact: (IMPROVEMENT) The application will now load significantly faster, especially on the first visit. Sharing links on social media will also produce much richer, more informative previews.
• What Changed: The main header navigation has been made more responsive.
  • User Impact: (IMPROVEMENT) On mobile devices, the navigation buttons are now more compact, with text labels appearing below the icons, providing a cleaner and more user-friendly experience on smaller screens.

Aurora Forecast Dashboard
The forecast engine has received a major upgrade, moving from a reactive status indicator to a sophisticated, predictive model.

• What Changed: The substorm detection logic was completely overhauled, replacing the previous heuristic model with a new physics-based predictive forecast engine.
  • User Impact: (NEW & IMPROVED) The "Substorm" section is now a powerful Predictive Forecast. Instead of just telling you if the field is "stretching," it now provides:
    • A real-time likelihood percentage of a substorm occurring.
    • A predicted time window (e.g., "0 – 30 min") for the event.
    • Clear, actionable advice (e.g., "Head outside or to a darker spot now.").
      This is a massive improvement, giving you a much more accurate and useful tool for timing your aurora watching.
• What Changed: A new "24-Hour Activity Summary" component has been added.
  • User Impact: (NEW) You can now see a quick summary of the past 24 hours, including the highest aurora forecast score reached and a timeline of any substorm "watch" periods, making it easy to see if you missed any significant activity.
• What Changed: The community sighting map now includes more detailed "Nothing to see" reporting options.
  • User Impact: (IMPROVEMENT) When reporting that you don't see the aurora, you can now specify how you were looking (naked eye, phone, or DSLR). This provides more valuable negative data, helping to better gauge the true visibility of an aurora.
• What Changed: The underlying data parsing for solar wind and magnetic field data was made more robust.
  • User Impact: (FIX) The charts and gauges are now more resilient to format changes from the NOAA data source, preventing potential display errors and ensuring data is always shown reliably.

CME Visualization Dashboard
This page has been upgraded with a highly-requested creative tool and several quality-of-life improvements to make the simulation more useful and intuitive.

• What Changed: A "Download Screenshot" feature has been added.
  • User Impact: (NEW) You can now capture a high-quality image of the current 3D simulation view by clicking the new download button. The saved image automatically includes planet labels, a simulation timestamp, and a "SpotTheAurora.co.nz" watermark, perfect for sharing on social media.
• What Changed: The timeline playback logic has been enhanced.
  • User Impact: (IMPROVEMENT) When the simulation timeline reaches the end, the play button now resets the animation to the beginning. This makes it much easier and more intuitive to re-watch a simulation without having to manually drag the scrubber back to the start.
• What Changed: The UI for the on-canvas controls (Reset View, Official Models, etc.) has been redesigned.
  • User Impact: (IMPROVEMENT) The control buttons are now more organized and include text labels on mobile, making their functions clearer at a glance.
• What Changed: The images for the "Official CME Models" modal are now preloaded.
  • User Impact: (IMPROVEMENT) The modal containing external forecast model images will now open faster and feel more responsive, as the images will already be loaded in the background.

Added some minor enhancements to the CME Visualization, added time counter to the app along with options to donate to the cause. 

• CME Visualization - Added ability to model individual CMEs, via the available CME panel in the top left.
• Added support the cause section with hours spent on project along with a Bank Account number to put money into, if you so wish to support this project.
• Changed the way Moon Reduction is applied, now knocks 75GW off the score if the moon illumination is 100%. This is linear as the illumination drops.
• Substorm forecast with percentage chance it'll arrive with times to expect.
• Better banner functionality, with navigation built in based on context.

Broken links found for HUXT forecast and HUXT forecast descriptions. 

After v0.2beta was released, some bugs were found as part of that. These were fixed in this version:

• Base Score in the Spot The Aurora graph wasn't populating when the Spot The Aurora Forecast was 0.
• Motueka webcam was removed as it wasn't behaving.

1. Aurora Forecast Dashboard

• Personalized Forecast Score: The main "Spot The Aurora Forecast" score is now adjusted based on your device's geographical latitude, providing a more accurate prediction for your specific location within New Zealand. A small text blurb indicates this adjustment.
• New Aurora Activity Alert Message: A prominent banner message now appears when it's near sunset and aurora activity is high, prompting you to look for a display. This alert intelligently considers moon illumination.
• Expanded Live Cameras: You can now select and view live camera feeds from various locations across New Zealand, in addition to Queenstown. Each view clearly displays its source.
• Enhanced Camera Settings Guidance: The "Suggested Camera Settings" section now offers more detailed and platform-specific advice for photographing the aurora with both Android and Apple phones, as well as DSLR/Mirrorless cameras.
• Improved Moon/Sun Event Display: Moon and Sun rise/set times on the forecast trend chart are now more accurately calculated and displayed, showing the next upcoming event.
• Toggleable Celestial Annotations: The "Spot The Aurora Forecast Trend" chart now includes optional annotations for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset times, which can be toggled on/off.
• Interplanetary Shock Events Moved: Information on "Interplanetary Shock Events" (IPS), which can trigger intense auroras, has been moved from the "Solar Activity Dashboard" to a dedicated section on the "Aurora Forecast Dashboard."

2. Solar Activity Dashboard

• New Activity Status Summary: A new "Current Status" overview section at the top provides a quick, consolidated status of solar activity (e.g., "Quiet," "Moderate," "High," "Very High").
• Direct Solar Flare Notifications: You can now receive direct notifications for powerful solar flares (M5+ and X1+ class) and significant solar proton events (S1 and S3+ class).
• Detailed "Last Updated" Timestamps: Each data section (X-ray Flux, Proton Flux, Solar Flares, Solar Imagery) now explicitly displays a "Last updated" timestamp, giving you clear information on data freshness.
• Streamlined Solar Imagery Options: The selection of solar images has been refined, focusing on key SUVI images and essential SDO images for clearer data presentation.
• Direct CME Visualization from Flares: From the "Solar Flares" list, you can now click a new "View in CME Visualization" button to automatically switch to the 3D model and view the associated Coronal Mass Ejection.
• Improved CCOR1 Video Section: The CCOR1 coronagraph video now has a more specific header and a dedicated info button.

3. CME Visualization

• Enhanced Orbit Visuals: Planetary and lunar orbits in the 3D visualization now appear as solid, thin "tubes" rather than simple lines, making them more distinct and visually appealing.
• Simplified Interaction Mode: The "Select Mode" for clicking individual CME particles has been removed. The 3D view is now permanently in "Move Mode" (for camera control), ensuring consistent and intuitive navigation. You can still access CME details via the CME List Panel.
• Improved Side Panel Positioning: The left (Controls) and right (CME List) side panels now correctly position themselves below the header bar on mobile and smaller screens.

4. App Settings

• Easier Access to Help & Tutorial: A new "Help & Support" section provides quick access to restart the introductory tutorial or send an email for support.
• App Version Display: The app's current version number is now prominently displayed in the footer of the Settings modal.
• Notification Customization Update: The ability to customize specific notification categories (e.g., specific aurora scores, flare classes) has been temporarily removed from the settings. A "Custom Alerts Coming Soon!" message is displayed in its place, while core notifications (which are always on if permission is granted) remain active.

5. General User Experience & Visuals

• Header Navigation Polish: Minor visual adjustments have been made to the header navigation buttons for improved aesthetics.
• New Animated Icons: The main navigation icons for "Solar Activity," "CME Visualization," and "Aurora Forecast," as well as the solar flare alert icon, have received visual upgrades with subtle animations for a more dynamic and engaging look.
• Improved Media Viewer: Videos in the media viewer now correctly support native playback controls (play/pause, scrubbing), while still allowing zoom and pan.
• Tutorial Navigation: The introductory tutorial now allows you to navigate backward between steps.