Space weather, made accessible.
Pulsar Auroras is the consumer site dedicated to aurora observation from France. Designed and operated by Pulsar Space Intelligence.
Why this site
In May 2024, a G5-class geomagnetic storm made the northern lights visible to the naked eye as far south as Marseille. Tens of thousands of people in France suddenly looked up, with no clear sense of where, when or how to watch. NOAA bulletins and Kp indices exist - but they are in English, technical, and built for satellite operators, not for someone who just wants to know whether to grab a camera tonight.
Pulsar Auroras fills that gap: a clear forecast, per city, with the same scientific data the space agencies use. Live Kp index, hemispheric power, latitude-based visibility threshold, 72 h forecasts. Free. No ads. No sign-up.
How it works
The data displayed comes from authoritative public sources:
- NOAA SWPC (Space Weather Prediction Center, USA): planetary Kp index, Ovation Prime model data.
- GFZ Potsdam (Germany): the official 3-hour Kp index, Niemegk reference station.
- NASA: solar and lunar ephemerides, ACE / DSCOVR satellite data.
- Open Light Pollution Map: Bortle classes and SQM by coordinates.
- OpenStreetMap / Nominatim: search and geocoding for off-list cities.
Our API api.pulsar-si.com aggregates these sources, computes a local Kp index by interpolation from magnetometer stations, and redistributes everything in JSON. It's the same API that powers app.pulsar-si.com, the Pulsar web app.
Who is behind it
Pulsar Auroras is an initiative of PULSAR Space Intelligence SAS, a French company based in Grasse (06) specialised in space-data processing for satellite operators, space agencies, and now the general public.
The team combines aerospace engineers, developers and astronomy enthusiasts. Our main B2B site is www.pulsar-si.com; this site is our consumer-facing window.
GDPR commitment
The site sets no tracking cookies, uses no advertising tools, and never shares your data with third parties. No Google Analytics, no Facebook Pixel, no consent banner to dismiss. The Cabin font is self-hosted, audience analytics run on a self-hosted Plausible instance on our French OVH servers.
Details in the privacy policy.
A question or suggestion?
Wrong data for your city, a feature you'd like to see, a press inquiry or just want to talk auroras? Write to us - we reply within one business day.