Bulletins

Bulletins are brief updates about SRS Open Science Platform components, such as tooling, datasets, and sensor networks. A bulletin can be about dataset releases, sensor deployments, releases of new skymaps or other higher-level data products, just to name a few. Below is a searchable keyword-based list for all bulletins.

It is expected that this list will grow faster than the larger news articles, as they are more brief and rapid in nature. Note that we have created bulletins going back to June 2024, just to populate this with what has happened since then. This feature was released in February 2026.

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September 29, 2026Sep 29TREx RGB operating mode metadata filterAuroraXOptical instrumentTREx RGB

TREx RGB ephemeris records in AuroraX now include an operating_mode metadata field, which records how each imager was operating for every minute of data. The imagers normally take an image every 3 seconds (3s-nominal), and for selected periods they also save higher-cadence 3Hz "burst" data (3hz-burst). Using this field as a metadata filter in a conjunction search or an ephemeris search, you can now find exactly the times when TREx RGB burst data is available.

The operating mode is only known once the raw data from a site has been ingested into the UCalgary archive, so this field typically lags a few months behind real-time. It is tied to the existing raw_data_exists field: records from before the raw data is ingested will not have an operating mode yet, and gain one once raw_data_exists becomes true. See Searching for Conjunctions for how to use metadata filters.

September 28, 2026Sep 28NOAA-21 satellite added to Swarm-Aurora and AuroraXAuroraXSwarm-Aurora

The NOAA-21 satellite has been added to Swarm-Aurora and AuroraX. You can now search and explore conjunctions with NOAA-21.

September 25, 2026Sep 25AuroraX news section addedAuroraX

The AuroraX website now has a News section, sharing updates specifically about the platform, its tools, and the data behind them. We have gone back through the history of the platform to fill it in, so the news now runs all the way back to the first version of the AuroraX website in April 2020!

September 25, 2026Sep 25SMILE spacecraft added to Swarm-Aurora and AuroraX, plus Conjunction Finder updatesAuroraXSwarm-Aurora

With the recently-launched SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) spacecraft now out of commissioning, we have added it to Swarm-Aurora and AuroraX. You can now search and explore conjunctions with SMILE, and enable it in the real-time viewer. Please note that the SMILE spacecraft is separate from the SMILE ASI network, which remains available as a ground-based instrument (added January 2026).

The Swarm-Aurora Conjunction Finder has also received a few improvements:

• A new Hemisphere setting, found below the HEO satellites list, controls which parts of the satellite traces are displayed. Choose North, South, Both, or Auto (the default, which follows the map you are viewing). When loading conjunction search results from AuroraX, Auto chooses the hemisphere for each conjunction based on where the LEO spacecraft were at the time, so conjugate conjunctions are displayed correctly.
• Keograms can now be quickly closed. Hover over a keogram and click the X in the top right corner to remove it and deselect the corresponding field of view on the map.

September 23, 2026Sep 23Software releases: PyAuroraX v1.26.0, IDL-AuroraX v1.11.0IDL-AuroraXOptical instrumentPyAuroraX1+ more

PyAuroraX v1.26.0

• ATM changes
  • forward: maxwellian_energy_flux now defaults to 0; at least one energy flux or a custom_spectrum is required
  • forward: added maxwellian_mean_energy as an alternative to maxwellian_characteristic_energy (at most one may be given)
  • inverse: precipitation_flux_spectral_type is now required (previously defaulted to gaussian)
  • client-side PyUCalgarySRS errors are now raised as AuroraXError
  • updated the ATM crib sheets, including the inverse-to-forward example, which previously passed the mean energy as the characteristic energy
  • removed the outdated ATM model version 1.0 note from the forward crib sheet
• bump PyUCalgarySRS dependency to latest

IDL-AuroraX v1.11.0

• ATM changes
  • forward: added the maxwellian_mean_energy keyword as an alternative to maxwellian_characteristic_energy (at most one may be given)
  • forward: removed the default Maxwellian spectrum; at least one energy flux or a custom_spectrum must be given
  • inverse: precipitation_flux_spectral_type is now required (previously defaulted to gaussian)
  • inverse: characteristic_energy is no longer returned by the API
  • fixed the inverse-to-forward example, which passed the mean energy as the characteristic energy
  • docstring fixes: inverse location limits, the custom neutral profile description, and the custom spectrum flux units

September 22, 2026Sep 22AuroraX API improvementsAPIAuroraX

We have deployed another round of improvements to the AuroraX API, this time focused on the underlying database management. As with the previous update, there is no impact to users and no changes are required for existing code.

September 22, 2026Sep 22AuroraX automated data loadingAuroraXIDL-AuroraXOptical instrument1+ more

AuroraX has been upgraded with automated data loading. Ephemeris and summary data now flow into the platform every few hours, so you can search for conjunctions and browse last night's data in Keogramist and AuroraDome without waiting for a manual update. PyAuroraX and IDL-AuroraX searches benefit automatically. See the full news post here.

September 22, 2026Sep 22AuroraX documentation moved to aurorax.space/docsAuroraXIDL-AuroraXPyAuroraX1+ more

The AuroraX documentation has moved. The standalone docs.aurorax.space site has been retired and replaced with aurorax.space/docs, integrated directly into the AuroraX website. The content has been updated and improved in various places, and the API references for PyAuroraX and IDL-AuroraX are now part of the new docs pages as well. Existing docs.aurorax.space links redirect to the new location.

September 22, 2026Sep 22Software releases: PyAuroraX v1.25.0, IDL-AuroraX v1.10.2, PyUCRio v1.9.0IDL-AuroraXOptical instrumentPyAuroraX3+ more

PyAuroraX v1.25.0

• updated machine learning metadata filter examples and tests to use the new v2 THEMIS ASI model keys (ucalgary_themis_apa_ml_v2 and ucalgary_themis_cloud_ml_v2, and their _confidence counterparts)
• updated all documentation links to the new AuroraX documentation site, as docs.aurorax.space has been retired in favour of the AuroraX documentation
• moved the subminute_precision parameter ahead of response_format in the aurorax.search.conjunctions.search() signature, grouping it with the other search criteria parameters
• removed the legacy example scripts for conjunction, ephemeris, and data product searching
• test suite updates

IDL-AuroraX v1.10.2

• updated machine learning metadata filter examples and tests to use the new v2 THEMIS ASI model keys (ucalgary_themis_apa_ml_v2 and ucalgary_themis_cloud_ml_v2, and their _confidence counterparts)
• updated all documentation links to the new AuroraX documentation site, as docs.aurorax.space has been retired in favour of the AuroraX documentation

PyUCRio v1.9.0

• updated dependencies
  • bump PyUCalgarySRS dependency to latest
  • bumped development dependencies
• test data for the test suite is now built from the open data platform by tools/build_test_data.py, replacing the tarball download

September 21, 2026Sep 21New machine learning models for THEMIS ASI and TREx RGBAuroraXIDL-AuroraXOptical instrument3+ more

We have released v2 of our THEMIS ASI cloud and amorphous pulsating aurora (APA) classification models, along with new v1 cloud and APA models for TREx RGB. All models are available as metadata filters in AuroraX conjunction and ephemeris searches, in PyAuroraX and IDL-AuroraX, and as downloadable ASCII files at data.aurorax.space, or on the main archive for THEMIS ASI and TREx RGB. See the full news post here.

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