Solar Wind
What is flowing past the solar-wind monitor?
Data illustration, not an app screenshot. Snapshot retrieved 2026-09-07T16:37:12+00:00. Open the template for refreshed data.
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In the app: Templates → Featured → Solar Wind. The app catalog version is signed and unlocks the template’s controls; manual file imports may require Control Pack for some controls.
Try it in 60 seconds
- Read the question. Check the source response and retrieval time before trusting any reading.
- Drag across the plot to inspect a value.
- Tap either reading card to reveal what it means. Open Explore for another view and the source records.
- Find the observation time. Upstream spacecraft measurements can have gaps; these are not measurements at your phone.
The idea worth keeping
Two measurements can share a time axis while keeping their different units separate.
A short script you can read aloud
“What is flowing past the solar-wind monitor? This layout starts with that question, not a wall of controls. The data comes from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Drag across the plot to inspect a value. The reading cards tell you what to notice; turn one over when you need context. Two measurements can share a time axis while keeping their different units separate. One important limit: Upstream spacecraft measurements can have gaps; these are not measurements at your phone.”
Suggested animation scene
Trace the series with a single moving dot. Reveal its unit, then its observation time. Never animate a missing reading into a zero.
Storyboard: 0–8 seconds, ask the question. 8–25 seconds, introduce one observation. 25–45 seconds, perform the gesture above. 45–60 seconds, show the timestamp and limitation. Keep labels readable, offer a reduced-motion cut, and use actual source values or a clearly marked replay.
How this becomes a layout
The provider publishes data → a small read-only adapter selects and names the useful fields → CAR-TER controls bind to those fields. All controls in this template share one endpoint. Polling is cached for 300 seconds; that is a retrieval interval, not a promise that the source updates that often.
Remix exercise
Duplicate this layout. Keep the source and units unchanged, but replace the primary visualization with the alternative in Explore, or move the record list above it. Ask a new reader which arrangement answers the opening question faster. Changing location or query parameters requires a new allowlisted server-side source, not an unwired selector.
Source, rights and limitations
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center · Exact upstream query · Usage terms / attribution
NOAA public data; retain agency credit. No endorsement implied.
Upstream spacecraft measurements can have gaps; these are not measurements at your phone.
This is a selected result window, not a full archive. Missing numbers are not replaced with zero. Lines connect available observations; consult records for gaps. A green READY badge means the last retrieval succeeded, not that the underlying observation is recent. STALE means a retained prior response; UNAVAILABLE means no usable cached response. If your device goes offline, check the displayed retrieval time: the last screen can remain visible.
Open-data and publicly accessible API are different promises. This collection labels each source’s conditions; it does not assert that every provider’s database or API is open-source software.