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• How To Obtain And Interpret Observatory Data (Part I)
  
• How To Obtain And Interpret Observatory Data (Part II)
  
• More Activities
  
• Submit Your Data
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Tutorial

A simple compass detects the direction that Earth's magnetic field is pointing. We can use this to find North. Scientists also measure the strength of Earth's field with sensitive instruments called magnetometers. Scientists put 'magnetic observatories' all over the world, but most are in the polar regions of Earth where the field is known to change rapidly.

This guide will help you use magnetic observatory data to keep track of magnetic disturbances. Magnetic disturbances often indicate that a solar storm is taking place. Severe storms can cause brilliant aurora that we can easily see on the ground.

For this activity you will be using real-time data from magnetic observatories located around the world. This data is updated every few minutes so that you can see exactly how Earth's field is changing right now. You can also look at archival data from these observatories to explore how their measurements have changed during the last day, week, or year.

On the following pages you will learn how to obtain and interpret observatory data, and how to submit your observations to the Student Observation Network to share with other students around the world. If you are just getting started, you will click on the left menu option entitled, "How To Obtain And Interpret Observatory Data (Part I)". Here you will learn to use the Kp Index and how to use data from Kiruna, Sweden and Baker Lake, Canada. For more advanced observations, you will click on the left menu option entitled, "How To Obtain And Interpret Observatory Data (Part II)". Here you will get data from observatories in Tromso, Norway, Tixie Bay, Russia, Alaska and across Canada in addition to Kiruna and Baker Lake.