V1.1 -NEW VIEWS, NOTIFICATIONS AND MORE!

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.