Nordlys: Live Aurora Simulation and Arctic Expedition ConsoleNordlys: Live Aurora Simulation and Arctic Expedition Console
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Nordlys is an Arctic expedition website set in Tromsø, Norway. The background is a live northern lights simulation. I wrote it in HTML5 Canvas with layered noise math. Video clips look repetitive after a few seconds, but this code runs at 60 frames a second and never repeats the same shape.
On top of the sky, I built a field console. It displays local coordinates, temperatures, solar wind speeds, and geomagnetic Kp levels. There is also a packing tool for winter crossings. You can check off coats, tents, and tools, and the app tracks your total pack weight down to the gram.
The main problem was contrast. Early on, the green aurora light was too bright. It made the white headlines and data tables impossible to read. I moved the bright waves down near the horizon and kept the upper sky nearly black. That gave the text plenty of room to breathe. Small details helped a lot too, especially scale ticks, metric units, and sensor clocks on the dials.😊
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