Replay · time of day (UTC)
--:--
Sound output
drawn like a magnetogram · starts with the soundAurora · brightest first · click one to hear it
No aurora map yet.
Icelandic Aurora Data Sonification
NORÐURLJÓS DATA FIELDS turns the northern lights over Iceland into sound. Norðurljós is Icelandic for northern lights. They glow where the solar wind, a stream of particles from the Sun, pours into the Earth's magnetic field, and Iceland lies right under the ring where they shine most often. Here the aurora is heard, even when daylight or clouds hide it.
Every few minutes NOAA maps where the aurora is, and the map draws it as a glow with drifting curtains. Under it, the solar wind is always sounding, measured every minute by spacecraft between the Earth and the Sun. Each new map sends a sweep of notes from west to east, higher, louder and longer where the aurora is stronger, softer where it couldn't be seen. Deep gongs mark storms.
The page opens in Live: the aurora and the solar wind as they are now. Replay plays the last 6 to 24 hours in a few minutes, and Manual lets you move through them yourself. Zoom into the map to listen to one area. If you hear nothing, press the sound button at the top.
Replay · time of day (UTC)
Sound output
drawn like a magnetogram · starts with the sound