How can I explore solar flare observations?
Open Solar Lab, choose a date and time window in UTC, then plot the interval. Select the available instruments in the sidebar and check their coverage for your chosen interval. Zoom into a chart and use the shared time marker to compare the observations.
Is Solar Open Monitor the same as Solar OpenMonitor?
Yes. Solar Open Monitor and Solar OpenMonitor are two spellings of the same free solar-physics service at solar.openmonitor.org. Solar Lab lets you inspect solar flare observations from multiple instruments on a shared UTC timeline.
Is Solar OpenMonitor free?
Yes. Free to use, no signup, no paywall, no API keys.
Do I need to sign up?
No account is required to explore Solar Lab. The interface opens in your browser; some regional observations are prepared by a processing service. See the privacy information and the viewer’s Team & credits panel for service details.
What instruments does Solar OpenMonitor cover?
Solar Lab compares GOES XRS soft X-rays, RSTN microwaves, RHESSI observing-summary count rates and POEMAS 45/90 GHz observations. Regional tools provide SDO/AIA light curves, SDO/HMI magnetic flux and magnetograms, and NSO/GONG H-alpha contrast. Flare and CME catalogues add event context.
Availability differs by instrument and interval. The long GOES record does not imply the same coverage for every panel. See the data guide and the coverage controls in the viewer.
Where does the data come from?
The observations originate from NOAA and partner archives for GOES/RSTN, NASA and UC Berkeley for RHESSI, CRAAM/Mackenzie for POEMAS, NASA/SDO and JSOC for AIA/HMI, NSO/GONG for H-alpha and NASA/CDAW for CME context. Processing and access conditions depend on the provider.
The source references and the viewer's Team & credits panel explain attribution. This independent service is not an official NOAA or NASA product.
How often is the data updated?
Refresh and archive coverage depend on the provider, instrument and selected interval. Recent GOES observations can update independently of historical archives; regional AIA/HMI/H-alpha products may require a processing job.
Check the timestamps, coverage, processing state and provenance shown by the relevant panel. A working website does not guarantee that every upstream feed is current or complete.
Why include GOES-8 and not just the modern GOES-R series?
GOES-R series (GOES-16 onward) is included, but Solar OpenMonitor stitches the full GOES-8 through GOES-19 timeline so you get a multi-decadal view of solar activity from 1995 to today, not just the modern era.
The value is continuity across satellites and flare cycles.
What languages does Solar OpenMonitor support?
English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The language switcher in the topbar persists your choice in localStorage and reflects it in the URL via the ?lang= query parameter, so a shared link preserves the language too.
Is the source code open?
The service is free to access. Its website source code is proprietary. Data reuse follows each provider's conditions; POEMAS and Dst are shown but are not downloadable from this viewer. Cite the underlying instruments and data sources used in your work.
Who built Solar OpenMonitor?
Mauricio Romero, independent researcher collaborating with CRAAM / Mackenzie (São Paulo).
Contact: romero@rudimirz.com. ORCID: 0000-0001-8818-4876.
How do I report a bug or request a feature?
Email romero@rudimirz.com.
Bug reports with a "Copy debug info" payload from the viewer's Tools menu are most actionable; the payload includes browser timezone, sample data, and the pre-render bundle state.