function [message]=ovation
ovationdata=webread('http://services.swpc.noaa.gov/text/aurora-nowcast-map.txt'); %loads the numerical ovation data
time=ovationdata( 141:145); % the time the prediction is valid
ovationdata=ovationdata(759:length(ovationdata)); %cuts off the headings
%the data is send to a text file and reloaded because this is the easiest way to get it into a matrix
k=fopen('ovation.txt','w'); %opens a text file and grants write access
fprintf(k,ovationdata); %sends the ovation data to the text file
fclose(k); %closes the file
ovation=load('ovation.txt'); %loads the text file
lat=47.1172; %Houghton latitude
long=-88.5625; %Houghton longitude
%this was a pain to figure out, but I think the upper left corner of the ovation data is for the south pole opposite the prime meridian
lat=90+lat; %degrees latitude from the south pole (top of the file)
long=180+long; %degrees longitude heading east (towards the US) from the prime meridian (left side of the file)
r=round(lat/180*512); %finds which row in the file to use, by figuring out the percentage of the way from the south pole the coordinates are and multiplying by te number of rows
c=round(long/360*1024); %same thing as for latitude, but finds the percentage of the way around the globe and multiplies by the number of columns
chance=ovation(r,c); %extracts the chance of an aurora for the given location
message=strcat({'The chance of a visible aurora at '},time,{' UTC is '},num2str(chance),'%'); %composes the message