Space Weather Alert System

The Space Weather Alert System is a Perl script that fetches space weather data from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and sends notifications to users when the threat level exceeds a certain threshold. The script is designed to run as a systemd service on Debian 12 and can send notifications via desktop notifications and email.

Features

• Fetches space weather data from NOAA's 27-day outlook, 3-day forecast, and 3-day geomagnetic forecast
• Parses the fetched data to extract relevant information
• Determines the overall threat level based on the parsed data
• Sends desktop notifications to logged-in users using notify-send
• Sends email notifications to users as a fallback
• Runs as a systemd service on a daily basis

Prerequisites

• Perl 5
• Required Perl modules:
  • WWW::Mechanize
  • Email::Sender::Simple
  • Email::Simple
  • Email::Simple::Creator
• notify-send command (for desktop notifications)
• Debian 12 or a compatible Linux distribution

Installation

1. Clone the repository or download the script files:

   git clone https://github.com/username/space-weather-alert.git
   

2. Install the required Perl modules if not already installed:

   sudo cpan WWW::Mechanize Email::Sender::Simple Email::Simple Email::Simple::Creator
   

3. Copy the space_weather_alert.pl script to /usr/local/bin/:

   sudo cp space_weather_alert.pl /usr/local/bin/
   

4. Create the systemd service file:

   sudo cp space_weather_alert.service /etc/systemd/system/
   

5. Create the systemd timer file:

   sudo cp space_weather_alert.timer /etc/systemd/system/
   

6. Reload the systemd daemon:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   

7. Enable and start the timer:

   sudo systemctl enable space_weather_alert.timer
   sudo systemctl start space_weather_alert.timer
   

Configuration

• Modify the $from and $to variables in the space_weather_alert.pl script to set the sender and recipient email addresses for email notifications.

• Adjust the threat level threshold in the space_weather_alert.pl script if needed. By default, notifications are sent when the threat level is 3 or higher.

Usage

The Space Weather Alert System will automatically run as a systemd service on a daily basis once installed and configured. You can check the status of the timer and the associated service using the following commands:

sudo systemctl status space_weather_alert.timer
sudo systemctl status space_weather_alert.service

Desktop notifications will be sent to logged-in users using notify-send, and email notifications will be sent to the configured recipient email address.

License

This project is licensed under the GPL.

Acknowledgements

• Space weather data provided by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)
• Perl modules used: WWW::Mechanize, Email::Sender::Simple, Email::Simple, Email::Simple::Creator

Contact

For any questions or suggestions, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.