My company has been having setbacks for the past few weeks with GNSS due to increased solar activity. It seems like this is suppose to continue and possibly get a bit worse until 2025. Does anyone have a really good website recommendation for getting solar weather reports a day or two out? We send crews several hours away often and would be helpful to know if there are going to be issues utilizing RTK on those days.
Thanks Gary! Do one of the types of event (geomagnetic storms, radiation solar storms or radio blackouts) affect GNSS more than the others? Looking at the scales page and can't figure that out exactly.
This is from Google which fits with what I remember when actively do GPS work:
Kp's of 1-4 are completely safe. At a Kp of 5, you'll have problems perhaps 1% of the time. At a Kp of 6, you'll lose an average of 5% of your locked satellites; at 7, you'll lose roughly one third.
See conversation here
https://forum.dji.com/thread-203507-1-1.html#:~:text=K p's%20of%201%2D4%20are,to%20disruptions%20in%20the%20ionosphere.
Also depends what latitude you're at. Higher latitudes are generally more susceptible to space weather.
My suggestion is spaceweather.com.
Their current forecast is:
SOLAR RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: An S2-class solar radiation storm is in progress on Feb. 13th. It started yesterday when an explosion on the sun's southwestern limb hurled a blizzard of energetic protons toward Earth. Twenty-four hours later, they're still coming. The storm is rich in "hard protons" wiith energies greater than 50 MeV. It is causing a shortwave radio blackout inside the Arctic Circle and speckling the cameras of some Earth-orbiting satellites. CME Impact alerts: SMS Text
IS A 'CANNIBAL CME' COMING? Since Feb. 7th, the sun has hurled multiple CMEs into space. A handful of them might hit Earth this week. A new NOAA forecast model shows at least three solar storm clouds approaching for strikes on Feb. 13th:
If you scroll down the page you get recent Kp index values or use the below link.
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index
Eta It won't show a link preview, but there is quite a bit of information on the above page in addition to the current space weather.
Something to look out for in the near future.
The sun’s magnetic poles will flip in 2024. Here’s what that means (msn.com)
Sort of related. I'm usually looking to get an idea of how strong the northern lights might get here.
Really haven't had any significant problems with running our GPS equipment, but ymmv.
Should be a decent night for the lights if the skies clear. Went from -20F two weeks ago to 47F yesterday.
https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
I don't pay much attention to predictions of northern lights any more because in the 1990's I saw the show of a lifetime.
In eastern Iowa about 42.15 degrees latitude on a moonless night in May the lights of various colors were dancing past the zenith.
I had come out of a music party about 2 am to my tent and saw the lights. I woke my wife up and joined several other people to watch for a half hour before sleep called.
I never expect to see the like of that again.