Parker Physics App aggregates live data from multiple public scientific APIs provided by NASA, NOAA, JPL, and ESA. This policy explains which data sources we use, how we access them, attribution requirements, and the terms governing developer access to our own API (Advanced plan).
1. Third-Party Data Sources
Parker Physics App uses the following public scientific data sources. All data remains the property of the originating agency and is used in compliance with each agency's terms of service.
We access these APIs in good faith as a display and educational aggregation service. We do not cache data beyond what is necessary for performance (typically 60 seconds for real-time feeds), and we do not redistribute raw API data for commercial purposes.
2. Attribution Requirements
When sharing or publishing content derived from Parker Physics App simulations or data displays, you must include appropriate attribution:
For simulation screenshots or exports: "Visualization: Parker Physics App (parkerphysics.app)"
For space weather data shown: "Data: NOAA/SWPC" or "Data: NASA/DONKI" as appropriate to the source displayed
For solar imagery: "Imagery: NASA/SOHO," "NASA/SDO," or "NASA/STEREO" per the specific image source
For orbital data: "Ephemeris: NASA/JPL Horizons"
Use of NASA imagery and data is subject to NASA's Media Usage Guidelines. NOAA data is in the public domain as a product of the U.S. Government.
3. Data Accuracy & Availability
Live data feeds are provided on a best-effort basis. Parker Physics App is not responsible for gaps, delays, or inaccuracies in data originating from third-party APIs. Feed latency typically ranges from 60 seconds to 15 minutes depending on the source's own update cadence.
Solar wind data (SWPC): Updates every 60 seconds from ACE/DSCOVR L1 measurements. Real-world propagation delay to Earth is ~15–60 minutes.
Kp index: Updated every 3 hours (estimated) or post-interval (final).
X-ray flux / flare classification: Updates every 1 minute from GOES satellites.
CME catalog (DONKI): Analyst-reviewed entries, typically updated within hours of an event.
Near-Earth Objects (NeoWs): Updated daily by JPL Center for Near Earth Object Studies.
When data feeds are unavailable, the application degrades gracefully and indicates the status as "stale" or "offline" in the live data bar.
4. Parker Physics API Access
The Parker Physics App Advanced plan includes access to our internal data pipeline API, which provides processed and quality-controlled solar wind data (including the wind speed pipeline developed with SWPC data). This API is intended for:
Personal research dashboards and custom visualizations
Academic projects with proper attribution
Integration into non-commercial educational tools
API access is granted per the terms of your subscription. Each Advanced account receives a unique API key. Access is scoped to your account's authorized endpoints and rate limits.
Commercial use of our API — including embedding in products distributed to paying customers — requires a separate Enterprise License Agreement. Contact api@parkerphysics.app to discuss enterprise terms.
5. Rate Limits
To ensure fair access and protect upstream API quotas, the following rate limits apply:
Free Tier: No direct API access. Data is served through the application UI only.
Basic Plan: No direct API access.
Advanced Plan: 1,000 requests per day; 60 requests per minute. Burst allowance of 10 requests per second for up to 5 seconds.
Enterprise: Custom limits negotiated per agreement.
Requests that exceed rate limits will receive HTTP 429 Too Many Requests responses. Repeated or intentional abuse of rate limits may result in API key revocation and account suspension.
6. Prohibited API Uses
Reselling or resyndication of API responses to third parties
Automated scraping, spidering, or bulk harvesting of data beyond your rate limit
Using API data to build or train machine learning models without explicit written consent
Circumventing rate limits through key sharing, credential rotation, or proxy networks
Using API data in any application that presents it as official government data without clear third-party attribution
Any use that violates the upstream terms of the source agencies (NASA, NOAA, JPL)
7. API Key Management
API keys are tied to your account and must not be shared or published publicly (e.g., in public GitHub repositories).
If you suspect your key has been compromised, regenerate it immediately from your account dashboard or contact support.
We reserve the right to rotate or revoke API keys at any time for security or policy violation reasons.
Leaked API keys that result in unauthorized usage may incur overage charges billed to the account holder.
8. Data Source Changes
Third-party data sources are outside our direct control. We make reasonable efforts to maintain live feed availability, but we cannot guarantee continuity if an upstream provider changes their API, imposes access restrictions, or decommissions a feed. We will communicate known disruptions via the application status bar and, for significant changes, via email to subscribed users.
We may add, modify, or remove data sources at any time. When adding new sources, we will update this policy accordingly.
9. Contact
For API access questions, enterprise licensing, or data policy inquiries: