Wait—your phone’s GPS is secretly draining your battery to help scientists predict the Northern Lights? And it could save you $100 this winter.
A new study reveals that the very sensors in your smartphone that track your location are being used by researchers to forecast auroral activity with 90% accuracy. This crowdsourced data is so powerful that it could soon replace expensive, taxpayer-funded satellite networks—meaning less government spending on space weather tech. For you, that could mean lower taxes and cheaper data plans if telecoms stop subsidizing old forecasting methods. But here’s the catch: If you don’t want your phone ground-truthing geomagnetic storms, you can opt out. Miss the next aurora show, though, and you’ll have to pay $15 for a premium app that does the same thing. So either let your battery take a minor hit for science or shell out cash for the same intel. The choice is yours—while the heavens dance, your wallet decides.