Rachael Filwett , Ph.D.

Energetic Particle Space Physicist

Space Weather UnderGround (SWUG) - Montana



The Space Weather UnderGround project is a science and outreach-based project that brings in high school and middle school teachers across the state, and gives them magnetometers to deploy at their school. The program allows us to get science-quality data across the state, with the intended purpose of examining geomagnetic induced currents (GICs) in the state.
As part of the program, teachers come to Montana State University for a workshop, in which they help to complete the magnetometer builds and learn about Earth's magnetic field and space weather. They also receive access to pre-made curriculum they can incorporate into their classroom.

The first magnetometer was deployed on Montana State campus in April of 2026, and then at the end of summer 2026 six other magnetometers were sent back with teachers to deploy.

Please use the above link to access the data website, which has some overview plots showing the recorded magnetic field, as well as the various locations they are located.