Live monitoring · Earth–ionosphere cavity
The planet’s heartbeat beats at 7.83 hertz.
The gap between the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere is a planetary-scale resonance box. Lightning strikes about forty-four times every second to excite it; the cavity answers with five distinct notes. The frame below is the station’s real recording — the trace beside it is our live model.
The Schumann resonance is the electromagnetic resonance of the global cavity between Earth and the ionosphere: a fundamental mode near 7.83 Hz with higher modes at 14.3, 20.8, 27.3 and 33.8 Hz, driven by worldwide lightning activity.
Dominant mode · I
amplitude breathing
Tomsk chart live
real station data · spectrogram
Live panel
spectrum · amplitude · event log
Event log
Box, drum, echo
resonance with a short history of science
In 1952 in Munich, Winfried Otto Schumann wrestled with a curious question: could the gap between the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere behave like a spherical transmission line? His calculations said yes. Electromagnetic waves echo around the planet inside this gap; the box’s fundamental frequency lands near 7.8 hertz — close to the time light takes to circle the Earth.
Eight years later, in 1960, Balser and Wagner at MIT measured these waves for the first time. The source was surprisingly mundane: lightning. About forty-four strikes per second across the planet radiate broadband excitation in the 3–60 hertz band; the cavity can only sustain its own natural frequencies. Any signal that misses them dies before completing a lap.
These five standing waves are called Schumann resonances today. The first is always the strongest; higher modes weaken and become transient. Frequencies are not fixed — they wobble measurably with the seasons, the height of the ionosphere and the time of day.
Read the full guide →Five stops, one echo
resonance modes
The cavity only sustains waves that fit whole laps around the Earth. That is why the modes are not evenly spaced — each breathes with its own Q factor.
| Mode | Frequency | Relative amplitude | Q | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 7.83 Hz | 1.00 | 4.7 | Fundamental mode — strongest and steadiest. This is the “heartbeat”. |
| II | 14.3 Hz | 0.45 | 5.1 | Most variable through the day; betrays the lightning sectors. |
| III | 20.8 Hz | 0.22 | 5.4 | Strengthens with the noon peaks of the Asia–Africa sectors. |
| IV | 27.3 Hz | 0.11 | 5.6 | Weak; hard to resolve in the winter spectrum. |
| V | 33.8 Hz | 0.06 | 5.8 | Edge of the spectrum; appears only in great storms. |
Values are typical averages from the literature — Nickolaenko & Hayakawa (2002); Williams (1992).
How is it measured?
antenna · silence · patience
Before the Schumann signal reaches an observatory it faces a giant problem: the 50-hertz power grid is millions of times stronger in the ELF band. That is why stations are built far from cities, in geologically quiet spots — Tomsk in the middle of the Siberian taiga, Hylaty in the Bieszczady forests.
The method has two components: a vertical rod antenna collects the Ez component of the electric field, while coils spanning square meters capture the horizontal magnetic field. After narrow-band filters that pass 3–60 hertz, the signal enters spectral analysis in minute-long blocks. The result is the spectrogram above: time across, frequency up, power in brightness.
Stations →Frequently asked
the distance between claim and measurement
Is the live panel on this page a real measurement?
The honest answer: the panel has two halves. The waveform and spectrum are a physics-based model driven by parameters from the literature — generated in real time and clearly labeled. The Tomsk spectrogram, on the other hand, is real station data. On a monitoring page, data honesty comes before decoration.
Does 7.83 Hz affect brain waves?
Mode I overlaps with the human alpha band, which is why “healing frequency” claims are widespread. Yet controlled studies have found no consistent, reproducible effect of a weak 7.83-hertz ELF field on brain activity. The signal is on the order of picotesla — far below artificial fields in a city.
Is the claim that “Earth’s frequency is rising” true?
No. The frequency wobbles by about ±0.5 hertz with seasons and time of day; there is no permanent upward trend. Viral “the frequency reached 12 hertz” posts are context-free snapshots of short-term wobble. Science watches the amplitude instead — and its long-term link to climate is an open research question.
Why “Earth’s heartbeat”?
The metaphor entered popular literature in the 1970s: mode I is so stable, and so identical everywhere on the globe, that the planet seems to share one pulse. The literature avoids the metaphor; the frequency is not a beat but the natural resonance of a global cavity. This site’s title is a nod, not a claim.
Does NASA track the Schumann resonance?
NASA has studied the Schumann resonance in the context of the global electric circuit and lightning activity; the continuous spectrogram on this page, however, comes from the Tomsk State University station in Siberia — one of the few observatories publishing its data in real time. NASA research complements station measurements, and this site relays the station's official feed unmodified, so what you see is what the instrument records.
Can I see yesterday's Schumann resonance?
Yes. Use the date picker next to the live chart — the time machine — or visit the archive section on the spectrogram page. Each UTC day's closing spectrogram is stored automatically, so you can browse the resonance day by day and compare today's pattern with yesterday's, the most requested comparison.
Where is the Schumann resonance measured — is there a live map?
Stations are spread across the globe: the live source here is Tomsk, Russia (56.5°N 85.0°E); others include Cumiana (Italy), Hylaty (Poland), Nagycenk (Hungary), Nakatsugawa (Japan) and Arrival Heights (Antarctica). The station network map on this page shows each station's position and marks the live source.
Does 7.83 Hz affect sleep or wellbeing?
Scientific honesty matters: although 7.83 Hz overlaps the human alpha band, controlled studies have found no consistent effect of a weak ELF field on brain waves. The signal is on the order of picotesla. This page shows the measurement itself, not speculative healing claims — the verified open question is the lightning–climate link.
Schumann resonance today — live frequency and current status
today's Schumann resonance value, the dominant mode and how often the data refreshes
Right now the Schumann resonance reads around 7.83 Hz with Mode I dominant. Values are tracked from the live spectrogram of the Tomsk (TSU) station; the chart refreshes roughly every 4 minutes, and each UTC day's closing frame is archived automatically. The frequency does not trend upward forever — it wobbles within about ±0.5 Hz depending on season and time of day.
| Today's data | Value |
|---|---|
| Mod I | 7.83 Hz |
| Dominant mode | I |
| Ez · 0–40 Hz | ELF |
| TOMSK · TSU | 56.5°N 85.0°E |
| UTC | --:--:-- |
How many Hz is the Schumann resonance today?
The fundamental mode (Mode I) averages 7.83 Hz, set by the physical size of the Earth–ionosphere cavity, which is why it has remained a stable reference for decades. Today's instantaneous reading can swing between 7.80 and 7.86 Hz. The upper modes sit at 14.3, 20.8, 27.3 and 33.8 Hz; when thunderstorm activity rises, their amplitudes climb clearly.
How often does the graph update?
Our server pulls the Tomsk station feed with a freshness of about 4 minutes; while the page is open, a countdown refreshes it automatically. Past days live in the archive section, where closing spectrograms are stored day by day — you can open yesterday's Schumann resonance graph in one click.
7.83 Hz and sleep: what does today's value mean?
Because 7.83 Hz sits near the alpha/theta border of human brainwaves, it draws attention in sleep and meditation research. The scientific fact is clear, though: the Schumann resonance is not a 'healing frequency'; it is a natural measurement of the planet's electromagnetic environment. Today's value simply shows which mode dominates the energy circulating in the cavity.
The planet never stops playing.
To listen you need one station, some silence, and a 0.19-second decay window.