AuroraCue: Aurora Forecast

AuroraCue answers two questions every aurora chaser has: is it worth going out tonight, and how do I get a real photo of it on my phone?

KNOW WHEN TO GO
AuroraCue reads NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center feed and weighs the strongest activity during your dark hours against your geomagnetic latitude, not just your map latitude. Much of North America and Europe sits several degrees closer to the aurora's reach than a plain latitude check would suggest. The home screen paints tonight's sky to match the verdict, tells you the Kp your spot needs, and charts the next 24 hours so you can see which ones reach you.

It also works out when the sky is actually dark where you are and how bright the moon will be, because a bright moon can wash out a faint display. And it checks MET Norway's cloud forecast for your dark hours: when skies look clear, which hour has the best gap, or when the overcast is solid enough that even a strong night probably won't show through.

GET THE SHOT
A bright aurora photo needs the shutter open for seconds, and a phone camera caps out well short of that in a single frame. AuroraCue locks exposure and ISO, takes several frames in a row, and merges them into one brighter image, right on the device. Every stack is kept in Your shots, dated and labeled with the night's Kp.

Tripod mode uses longer, dimmer frames for the cleanest result. Handheld mode uses shorter, brighter frames and lines each one up automatically to cancel out hand shake.

ALERTS THAT KNOW YOUR SKY
Free, AuroraCue watches for the big nights: when NOAA's forecast for your dark hours reaches one Kp above what your location needs, you get one push that evening. With AuroraCue Pro, you don't have to wait for a strong night. The evening alert comes at the Kp your location needs, and another arrives as the live one-minute reading gets there while it's dark where you are. Nothing arrives in daylight, and nothing for a storm that won't reach you. Where the aurora is up most clear nights anyway, it waits for a genuinely strong display instead of buzzing you every evening. And if you'd rather sleep through the ordinary nights, one optional Pro switch lets a strong display under a clear, moonless sky through Sleep and Focus to wake you, at most once a night.

Pro also adds a live map of NOAA's aurora oval with you marked on it, refreshed every five minutes; the full three-day Kp outlook; and stacked photos saved and shared without the small AuroraCue mark.

FREE WITHOUT ADS
Tonight's forecast and the whole camera cost nothing and show no ads, and you can save and share every stacked shot with a small AuroraCue mark in the corner. AuroraCue Pro costs $29.99 a year or $4.99 a month, and either plan starts with a free week. Payment is charged to your Apple account, and subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel them in your Apple account settings.

YOUR DATA STAYS PUT
The forecast runs on your location right on the device. For the cloud forecast, a position rounded to about 10 km goes to MET Norway, with nothing that identifies you. Only if you turn on an alert does AuroraCue's server keep a rounded version, about 100 km, plus a push token; switching alerts off erases both. Frames are merged on the device, and a photo leaves your phone only if you choose to send it to us. There is no account and no sign-in.

WHAT TO EXPECT
The visibility estimate is an honest approximation from published aurora-oval figures, not a guarantee. Photo results depend on how dark and still the sky is, and a steady surface helps even in handheld mode.

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