n8n workflow of the week · Episode 21 of 21 · spectacular
Aurora does not begin with a pretty app but with a disturbed magnetic field. NOAA continuously publishes the planetary Kp index: the higher the number from 0 to 9, the stronger the geomagnetic activity. This workflow checks every 15 minutes, reports a new threshold exactly once and goes quiet again when the storm fades.
How it works
- Every 15 minutes: starts every 15 minutes. Kp does not change by the second, so checking more often gains nothing.
- NOAA planetary Kp: gets the freely available one-minute list from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
- Storm worth watching?: takes the newest valid Kp value, compares it with your threshold and remembers the already-reported half-step. Once it falls below, the radar arms itself again.
- Push to phone: sends title and text to ntfy.sh; the app shows them as a push notification.
What it is good for
For the curious, photographers and anyone who does not want to miss the one exciting moment by accident on a clear night. Kp is an early signal, not a visibility guarantee: clouds, light pollution, the Moon and your latitude all matter. After the push, check the local cloud forecast and look north.
Make it yours
The threshold is at the top of the Code node. Kp 5 is a good Berlin starting point; Kp 4 may be enough in Scandinavia, while Kp 6 is more realistic farther south. To also decide whether it is dark and clear, combine this with Open-Meteo and a second Code node. NOAA's source needs no key.
Import it in two minutes
- Download the workflow: week-21.json.
- In n8n, top right “…” → “Import from File”.
- In every push node replace
your-secret-topicwith your own hard-to-guess topic and subscribe to it in the ntfy app (free, no account). - Adjust the values marked with a comment in the Code node, press “Execute workflow” once, then activate it.
New to n8n? The basics are in n8n introduced.
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