Developer builds aurora viewing tool that gives simple GO, MAYBE, or NO answers

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A developer frustrated by the complexity of existing aurora forecasting tools has built Aurora Tonight, a free web app available at aurora-tonight.com. Users enter a city or ZIP code and receive one of four plain-language verdicts — GO, MAYBE, NO, or UNKNOWN — along with the best viewing window and the main obstacle to visibility. The tool draws on NOAA geomagnetic data and Open-Meteo cloud cover forecasts, deliberately avoiding invented probability figures the developer argues no one can honestly calculate. Cloud cover, light pollution, moonlight, and darkness are all factored into each location-specific decision. Currently covering 15 or more US states and cities at mid-to-high northern latitudes, the site is built on Next.js and Vercel and is free to use with no sign-up required.

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