UCalgary Space Remote Sensing Open Science Platform

Welcome to the UCalgary Space Remote Sensing (SRS) Open Science Platform. The open science platform facilitates collaborative research, data sharing, and knowledge dissemination by making scientific resources freely accessible to the public.

Open Data Archive

Browse our open data archive. The archive is accessible using a variety of methods, including HTTP, FTP, Rsync, Python libraries, IDL library, and direct API-based access. Learn more here.

• HTTP: by project, by instrument type
• Rsync: rsync rsync://data.phys.ucalgary.ca
• FTP: ftp://data.phys.ucalgary.ca
• Software Packages: Python and IDL libraries
• API: api.phys.ucalgary.ca
• View the status of the platform
• Explore the archive data volume

Working with our data

We provide several libraries for working with our data, along with a vast example gallery. Tools are for Python and IDL, along with a RESTful API available for direct interaction.

• Explore our software packages
• Learn how to download data
• Explore the crib sheets: Python, IDL
• New to our data? Follow our learning paths to get started
• Learn about the API
• Writing a paper? Learn how to cite use of our datasets and platform tools

Learn more

Dataset Documentation

Descriptions for each dataset are available, including details about the sensors, site locations, available and common datasets, and more.

Explore the dataset documentation

Data Discovery (Virtual Observatories)

Explore our data through a variety of web-based virtual observatories developed to support exploration and discovery our data.

• Data Portal (summary data, real-time feeds, data availability)
• Swarm-Aurora
• AuroraX

A Snapshot of the Platform

117

Operational Sensors (Canada, US, Greenland, Antarctica)

23

Instrument Array Datasets

1.1 PB+

Data Archive Volume

50K+

Real-Time Data Streams

2K+

Scientific Users (last 12 months)

122K+

Public Users (last 12 months)

Latest Bulletins

March 12, 2026Mar 12New Data Volume page addedWebsite

We have added a new Data Volume page to this website, providing a summary of the data included in the SRS Open Science Platform. The page features an interactive chart showing data volume and file counts broken down by dataset or general category.

March 12, 2026Mar 12New 'How to Cite' page addedWebsite

We have added a new How to Cite page to this website. The page is designed to help users quickly and easily know what needs to be included in your paper when using a dataset or tool provided by us.

March 4, 2026Mar 4Publications database addedWebsite

We have added a new Publications page to this website, listing publications that are enabled by the SRS Open Science Platform.

We are continuing to add publications from the last 30+ years, so this list will grow over time. We plan to update the database at least once per year, around February-March, which lines up with our fiscal year end reporting time.

February 27, 2026Feb 27Automated data uploading enabled for AuroraXAuroraX

After a long wait since first launching the AuroraX platform, we have now been able to automated data uploading of ephemeris and data product data (horray! ). This means that the platform now supports exploring last night's ASI data in the Event Explorer and Keogramist.

For the conjunction search, the base statement is that any ASI data with ephemeris records means we have raw data available for use. We are working towards updating this logic to support generation of ephemeris records for when we know we will have raw data available for. Meaning it just hasn't been received from the remote sites and ingested, but it does exist. This next change will mean that conjunction searches will be possible for last night's data. We will post a bulletin when this is generally-available.

February 27, 2026Feb 27AuroraX database updated with latest dataAuroraX

The AuroraX database has been updated with the latest data, supporting Conjunction Search, the Event Explorer, and Keogramist. Explore the platform's complete data availability here.

A reminder that ephemeris data for all-sky imager systems is currently only uploaded when the raw data is returned from the remote sites. We are working to improve this to better match Swarm-Aurora's availability for finding recent conjunctions (as data ingestion usually sees a 3-4 months lag).

Note

THEMIS ASI data from 2022-01-01 to present does not include ML-derived metadata for the cloud and amorphous pulsating aurora models. We are working to get the models into production so that this data can be backfilled. A future bulletin will provide an update when this has been completed.

View all bulletins

Latest News

February 15, 2026

Open Science Platform website gets an upgrade

Our Open Science Platform website receives a bunch of updates, featuring a new theme, news section, revamped crib sheets, a gallery, and expanded data access documentation.

Read more →

January 11, 2026

Additions to Swarm-Aurora

We have added SMILE ASI and an all-sky imager from UNIS at KHO to Swarm-Aurora.

Read more →

November 1, 2025

2025 field season highlights

A look back at the 2025 field season, with new SMILE ASI and SWAN HSR deployments across northern Canada.

Read more →

View all news

FAQ

How do I properly acknowledge and cite the data I'm using?

Each dataset contains an acknowledgements file housed in the appropriate data tree. The file contains required data acknowledgements and/or the DOI for the dataset (e.g., REGO). You can also consult the list of datasets to find links to appropriate acknowledgements file. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please reach out (Emma Spanswick, Eric Donovan).

I think something is wrong, who do I contact about the data I'm using?

If you encounter issues or have questions about the data please reach out to the instrument contact listed on the Dataset Documentation page.

Can you change the operating mode of the senors to support my science?

Some UCalgary instrumentation has capacity for different operating modes. If you are interested in discussing operational modes, please reach out to the contact for the appropriate instrument type/network.

Are there any new sensors planned for the near future?

We are always looking for ways to improve the quality and information content of our data. This can be modifications to operational modes, calibration procedures, or designing next generation instrumentation. Currently, SMILE-ASI is in active development, with GDC-G following closely behind. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out the UCalgary team.

How do I get last night's full resolution data?

Depending on the instrument type, full resolution data may not be available in real-time. Higher data rate systems (e.g., ASIs) often rely on physical recovery of hard drives with a 3-6 month lag for data to be available. Our data archive is built on a philosophy of 'if we have it, you have it', so for our fully operational systems if you do not see full resolution data, it is very likely still in the field. For high-value data, and on request, we can sometimes retrieve portions of large datasets (e.g., an hour of data). If you have a specific data request please reach out to the instrument contact.

Contact

If you have any other questions, please contact us (Emma Spanswick, Eric Donovan).