Solar Activity Intensifies as Huge Sunspot Grows

Source - Space Weather News for July 9, 2017: http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR ACTIVITY INTENSIFIES: Sunspot AR2665, which emerged just as few days ago, has mushroomed into a behemoth nearly as wide as the planet Jupiter. On July 9th the fast-growing sunspot produced an M-class solar flare and a short-lived shortwave radio blackout over east Asia and Australia. Stronger flares and Earth-directed CMEs may be in the offing as AR2665 turns toward our planet in the days ahead.

Visit Spaceweather.com for images, movies and updates.

Massive Explosion on the Sun

Source - Space Weather News for April 19, 2017: http://spaceweather.com

OLD SUNSPOT RETURNS, EXPLODES: Old sunspot AR2644 has returned following a 2-week trip around the backside of the sun--and it is still active. During the late hours of April 18th, the sunspot's magnetic canopy exploded, producing a C5-class solar flare and hurling a spectacularly bright coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. The massive cloud of hot plasma will almost certainly miss Earth, but future explosions could be geoeffective as the sunspot turns toward our planet. Visit  Spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

CHANCE OF MAGNETIC STORMS: NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on April 19th and 20th when a high-speed stream of solar wind is due to reach our planet. This could spark bright Northern Lights in the waxing spring twilight around the Arctic Circle. Monitor the aurora gallery for sightings.

Sunspot Surprise

Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 25, 2017: http://spaceweather.com

SUNSPOT SURPRISE: Barely visible only 24 hours ago, a new sunspot group big enough to swallow Earth is bubbling up through the solar surface. So far the active region poses no threat for strong solar flares, but this could change if its rapid growth continues. Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com to view a movie of sunspot genesis, and to learn how this development fits in with the recent "crash" of the sunspot cycle.

HIGH-LATITUDE AURORA WATCH: A hole in the sun's atmosphere is spewing a stream of solar wind toward Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when the stream arrives on Jan. 27-28. Monitor the realtimeaurora gallery for sightings.

The Strongest Solar Flare of 2016

Source - Space Weather News for July 23, 2016: http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR FLARES: Departing sunspot complex AR2565-AR2567 unleashed a pair of rapid-fire solar flares during the early hours of July 23rd. One of them was the strongest flare of the year so far.  The explosions caused shortwave radio blackouts on the dayside of Earth and may have hurled CMEs into space.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

Growing Sunspot Crackles with Flares

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 23, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

CHRISTMAS FLARES:  A new sunspot (AR2473) is growing rapidly in the sun's southern hemisphere, more than quadrupling in size in the past 24 hours. Crackling with M-class solar flares, the sunspot has already caused several minor shortwave radio blackouts, mainly south of our planet's equator. More flares and radio blackouts are in the offing as the growing sunspot turns toward Earth. Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information.

Solar Flare and Radio Blackout

Source - Space Weather News for March 7, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

ACTIVE SUNSPOT: A sunspot has emerged near the sun's southeastern limb, and it is crackling with strong flares.  The most powerful so far, an M9-class explosion on March 7th, produced a moderately-strong radio blackout over the Pacific side of Earth. 

Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

Resurgent old sunspot crackles with flares

Space Weather News for Nov. 16, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

Back for a second trip across the face of the Sun, old sunspot AR2192 is growing again and crackling with M-class solar flares.  The active region has an unstable magnetic field that harbors energy for even stronger X-flares. Future eruptions could affect Earth as the sunspot turns toward our planet in the days ahead. 

Check http://spaceweather.com for updates.

X-flare and Martian Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 7, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

MARTIAN METEOR SHOWER: NASA and European spacecraft have detected evidence of a "spectacular" meteor shower on Mars caused by the close approach of Comet Siding Spring last month.  If a human had been standing on the Red Planet at the time, they might have seen thousands of meteors per hour followed by a widespread yellow afterglow that lasted for days.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information.

X-FLARE!  Active sunspot AR2205 produced a potent X1-class solar flare on Nov. 7th, causing a strong HF radio blackout on the dayside of our planet. More X-flares are in the offing as the sunspot turns toward Earth this weekend.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for updates.

Actve Sunspot AR2205

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 4, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

Crackling with M-class solar flares, an active sunspot is emerging over the sun's northeastern limb.  The new region, numbered AR2205, has produced multiple CMEs in the past 48 hours.  So far Earth is outside the line of fire, and the solar storm clouds are sailing wide of our planet. This could change, however, as the sunspot turns toward Earth in the days ahead. 

Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

A Big Sunspot Emerges

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 17, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

A large and active sunspot is emerging over the sun's southeastern limb. Only two to three days ago, this active region unleashed multiple flares and hurled a massive CME over the edge of the sun.  If these eruptions continue apace, solar activity could sharply increase in the days ahead as the sunspot turns to face Earth. 

Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos and updates.

Earth-Directed X-flare

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 10, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

X-FLARE:  Active sunspot AR2158 erupted on Sept. 10th, producing a strong X1.6-class solar flare.  Because the sunspot is directly facing Earth, this is a geoeffective event.  HF radio blackouts and other communications disturbances have already been observed on the day-lit side of Earth. 

Stay tuned to http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates about the possibility of an Earth-directed CME and geomagnetic storms in the days ahead.

Lunar Transit of the Sun

Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 29, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

LUNAR TRANSIT:  The Moon is about to pass in front of the sun, producing an eclipse that can be seen only from space.  NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory will record the 2.5-hour  "lunar transit" beginning at 1331 UTC or 8:31 EST on Thursday, Jan. 30th.  Tune into http://spaceweather.com for pictures during the event.

SOLAR FLARES: A large and moderately active sunspot is slowly turning toward Earth, increasing the chances of geoeffective solar activity this week.

X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Huge Sunspot Erupts

Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 7, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY:  One of the largest sunspots in years, AR1944, has turned toward  Earth and it is crackling with strong flares.  So far on Jan. 7th, the active region has produced M7- and X1-class eruptions, and more appear to be in the offing.  As this alert is being issued, analysts are waiting for more data from solar observatories to clarify the possibility of CME impacts and geomagnetic storms in the days ahead.

For updates, stay tuned to: http://spaceweather.com.

SOLAR FLARE ALERTS:  Would you like a call the next time sunspot AR1944 erupts? X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Solar Activity is High as a Big Sunspot Turns to Face Earth

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 8, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

HIGH SOLAR ACTIVITY: This week, Jupiter-sized sunspot AR1890 unleashed two brief but intense X-class solar flares and numerous M-class solar flares. More eruptions are in the offing as the sunspot turns to directly face Earth over the weekend.

X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Sunspot Turns Toward Earth

Source - Space Weather News for July 5, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

BIG SUNSPOT: One of the biggest sunspot groups of the current solar cycle has emerged in the sun's southern hemisphere.  AR1785 has an unstable magnetic field that harbors energy for strong solar flares, and it is turning toward Earth.

Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

Strong Solar Radio Burst

Source - Space Weather News for Feb. 3, 2003: http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR RADIO BURST: Solar activity has been low for weeks.  However, there was a break in the quiet this weekend when new sunspot AR1667 unleashed a strong burst of shortwave radio static.  The emissions were so loud, they overwhelmed the sounds of terrestrial voice transmissions in the loudspeakers of some shortwave radios on Earth.  A recording of the outburst is featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR FLARE ALERTS: Would you like a call when solar flares are underway? X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

A Big Sunspot Turns Toward Earth

Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 11, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

ACTIVE SUNSPOT:  One of the biggest sunspots of the current solar cycle is now turning toward Earth. Named AR1654, the active region is crackling with medium-sized (M-class) flares and could be poised to break the recent spell of calm space weather around our planet.  Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

SOLAR FLARE ALERTS: Would you like a call when solar flares are underway? X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Solar Activity Alert: New Sunspot Crackles with M-flares

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 21, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR ACTIVITY: A big new sunspot (AR1618) has emerged near the center of the solar disk, and it is crackling with strong M-class solar flares.  NOAA forecasters estimate a 70% chance of more M-flares today, and a 15% chance of powerful X-flares.  If the rapid growth of AR1618 continues apace, the Thanksgiving holiday (USA) could be filled with stormy space weather.  Check http://spaceweather.com for updates.

SOLAR FLARE ALERTS: Would you like a call when solar flares are underway? X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

X-class Solar Flare on Oct. 23rd

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 23, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

HIGH SOLAR ACTIVITY:  New sunspot AR1598 has boosted solar activity to high levels.  This morning, Oct. 23rd, it produced a powerful X1-class solar flare.  There have been four significant flares since the active region emerged three days ago, and it seems that more could be in the offing. Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

X-FLARE ALERTS: Would you like a call when solar flares are underway? X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Solar Activity Picks Up

Source - Space Weather News for July 28, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR FLARES: New sunspot AR1532 is crackling with M-class solar flares, including a brief but intense M6-flare on July 28th.  So far none of the eruptions has been Earth-directed, but this could change in the days ahead as the active region turns toward our planet. Check http://spaceweather.com for updates.

DON'T MISS THE NEXT FLARE: Would you like a call when strong flares are in progress? Realtime solar activity alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).