X5.1 solar flare, G4 geomagnetic storm watch

Here she blows! Sunspot region 4274 produced its strongest solar flare thus far since it appeared on the east limb and the sixth strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle. An impressive long duration and highly eruptive X5.1 (R3-strong) solar flare peaked this morning at 10:04 UTC.

SpaceWeatherLive.com
NASA Scientific Visualization Studio | Solar Cycle 25 - the Solar Magnetic Field from Solar Minimum to Pole Flip

One advantage of long-lived missions like Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is the ability to see slow but significant changes over long periods of time.This view from SDO's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) shows the evolution of sunspots on the solar disk starting from solar minimum (around December 2019) and into the maximum solar activity phase. The video ends in September 2024, however this maximum phase is expected to continue into 2025. The peak solar maximum of this solar cycle has not yet been identified. In the first video, the images are sampled uniformly, about every six hours over this time period. Starting at solar minimum, we observe very little detail on the Sun, but for an occasional sunspot. As the Sun evolves further into the cycle, sunspots appear more frequently, and larger. ||

NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

Friday night's #Aurora, as seen in Aurora, Illinois, USA.

(Photo credit: Thom King.)

#SolarStorm #solar_activity #AuroraBorealis #AuroraIllinois #FoxRiver #FoxRiverValley

CME impact imminent, Two more earth-directed CMEs

A quick update on the current solar activity and the expected geomagnetic conditions in the coming days.

SpaceWeatherLive.com