Sun

Sun activity archive for March 2024

Posted by
C. Alex Young
and
Raúl Cortés
and
Armando Caussade
and
Michael Maimone
and
March 1, 2024

Sun news for March 30, 2024: Parker Solar Probe’s close approach to the sun

Did you know the Parker Solar Probe is the fastest human-made object? Launched on August 12, 2018, today Parker enters its #19 perihelion, or its 19th closest approach to the sun. Traveling at approximately 804,670 kilometers per hour (606,350 miles per hour), Parker is about 7.9 million kilometers (4.9 million miles) from the sun’s surface. The heat shield that protects the spacecraft is 840 °C (1543 °F). Parker will reach the same distance from the sun during its #20 and #21 perihelions. Then it reaches its final closest approach on December 24, 2024. This will come after its final (7th) Venus flyby, which is the gravity assist that allows it to reach the sun one more time.
Last 24 hours: There are two new active regions emerging over the eastern limb. A beautiful prominence eruption in the southeast may be an indicator of more to come. Sun activity is at a moderate level with the production of two M flares from AR3615, blasted in the past 24 hours. Solar flare production between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today included 15 flares, two Ms and 13 Cs. The largest was an M1.2 from active region AR3611 at 19:34 UTC on March 29. The explosion caused an R1 (minor) radio blackout affecting an area over Mexico. The second M flare of the day was an M1.0 also from AR3615 at 18:43 UTC on March 29. A corresponding R1 (minor) radio blackout occurred over the Gulf of Mexico. AR3615 will soon depart over the southwest limb. The sun has three numbered sunspot regions.
Next 24 hours: The forecast is a 99% chance for C flares, a 75% chance for M flares and a 25% chance for X flares.
Next expected CME: The coronal mass ejection (CME) produced during the X1.1 flare by active region AR3615 was determined to miss Earth. No other Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed in the available imagery.
Current geomagnetic activity: Earth’s geomagnetic field is quiet at the time of this writing (11 UTC on March 30). Quiet conditions will continue for the rest of the day through tomorrow. Chances for an isolated unsettled condition is anticipated due to fast solar wind from a coronal hole.

Sun news for March 29, 2024: BLAMMO! X flare from AR3615!


The EarthSky sun news team created this 1-minute video summary for you. Sun activity is HIGH!
Sunspot region AR3615 did not let us down. And as expected, it produced an X flare in the past day. The event was an X1.1 flare at around 20:50 UTC on March 28 with an associated coronal mass ejection (CME).  In addition, over the last 24 hours, AR3615 released an M7, an M6, an M9.7 and an M3.1 flare. An R3 (strong) radio blackout occurred following the X flare. It affected an area over Pacific Ocean, between the west coast of Mexico and Hawaii. The event appears to have an associated slow coronal mass ejection (CME). We await further analysis to know if there is an Earth-directed component. All eyes are on AR3615 because it is no longer decreasing in size and it is maintaining its gamma-beta-delta magnetic complexity within multiple delta regions. This is indicating potential for more flaring including M and X events. It produced all but two of the flares during the last 24 hours including an X and four M flares. The region has also moved into an alert zone for solar energetic particle events that could create particle storms. On the western limb, regions are better connected magnetically to Earth. Solar energetic particles travel along magnetic fields so this creates a kind of magnetic super highway. These particle storms can create long term radio blackouts near Earth’s poles, potentially damage satellites, and create additional hazards for astronauts. Hence, AR3615’s location puts various industries on a heightened alert. Stay tuned for more updates.
Last 24 hours: An X flare by AR3615 brings sun activity to high level. The X1.1 flare occurred at 20:50 UTC on March 28. Over the past day, the sun released 18 flares, an X, four Ms and 13 C flares. The lead flare producer was AR3615. Here is a breakdown of the Ms and X flares produced by AR3615:
M6.1 flare at 15:56 UTC on March 28. R1 (minor) radio blackout affected an area over the Atlantic Ocean.
M1.2 flare at 19:31 UTC on March 28. R1 (minor) radio blackout over Mexico.
M9.7 flare at 20:46 UTC on March 28. R2 (moderate) radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean.
X1.1 flare at 20:56 UTC on March 28. R3 (strong) radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean.
M3.2 flare at 2:30 UTC on March 29. R1 (minor) radio blackout over Papua New Guinea.
The sun has five numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news for March 28, 2024: Activity high! AR3615 keeps going


Sun activity is high, due to an M7 flare – getting close to an X flare – from AR3615 earlier today. Yesterday, it looked as if this giant, active sunspot region was beginning to decay, as the sun’s rotation carries it ever-closer to disappearing over the sun’s western horizon. But now AR3615 has gotten interesting again! Over the past day, it blasted the M7 … grew 25% in size (after shrinking by about an Earth’s worth of area the day before) … maintained its gamma-beta-delta magnetic complexity, indicating a great potential for more flaring … and it spewed out a beautiful jet. Plus, over the past day, AR3615 was the sole flare producer. Meanwhile, what’s this we see on the opposite side of the sun? It’s a beautiful prominence, sitting off the sun’s southeast limb (edge). Solar plasma is swirling along magnetic field lines high up in the solar atmosphere. It might indicate a new region of activity, sitting just over that horizon, soon to rotate into view. Stay tuned!
Last 24 hours: AR3615’s M7 flare brings sun activity to high. The M7 happened at 6:29 UTC this morning (March 28). An R2 (moderate) radio blackout affected an area over the Indian Ocean centered off the southeast coast of Sri Lanka. During the past day (11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today), the sun produced 17 flares in total, one M and 16 Cs. AR3615 is the only flare producer of the period. The sun has six numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side.

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Sun news for March 27, 2024: AR3615 goes pow, pow, pow, pow

AR3615 – a region of multiple, scattered sunspots – produced four more M flares in the past day. It produced 22 of the past day’s 23 flares. We’ve watched this mighty region grow from less than the area of one Earth to almost seven Earths in area. We saw it became visible from the ground with eclipse glasses. And it’s been the lead flare producer, occasionally the sole producer, during its days traveling on the sun’s Earth-facing disk. And, almost from its first appearance, AR3615 has maintained a gamma-beta-delta magnetic complexity, indicating a strong potential for flaring. It still carries great potential for more flaring, perhaps including an X flare (the X-flare potential is still at 25% today). It’s still in a position to send sun stuff our way and provide the power for more auroral displays. But now this great region is shrinking in size. How much will it diminish, before the solar rotation takes it out of sight? Stay tuned!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is at moderate levels, with the production of five M flares, four from AR3615. There were also 18 C flares, bringing the total for the past day to 23 flares (from 11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today). The largest event was an M1.9 flare. The list of M flares:
M1.9 by AR3615 at 13:30 UTC on March 26. R1(minor) radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa.
M1.7 by AR3621 at 13:46 UTC on March 26. R1 radio blackout in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa.
M1.6 by AR3615 at 21:58 UTC on March 26. R1 radio blackout in the middle of the Pacific Ocean off south coast of Hawaii.
M1.1 by AR3615 at 1:44 UTC on March 27. R1 radio blackout in the middle of the Pacific Ocean off the north of Papua New Guinea.
M1.1 by AR3615 at 6:41 UTC on March 27. R1 blackout in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the south coast of India.
Except for the M1.7 flare from AR3621, AR3615 was the sole flare producer, with four M and 18 C flares. The sun has eight numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news for March 26, 2024: Sunspot region AR3615 still spitting out flares

Sun activity is back to moderate levels with the production of multiple M flares from active region AR3615. This sunspot region is under watch since it continues to grow with the promising magnetic complexity of a beta-gamma-delta; chances for even an X flare go to 25%. During the past day, this active region was the major flare producer. At Earth, after the joyous aurora party, Earth’s magnetic field returned to quiet levels. A G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm is expected during the day, but compared to the high activity of the past few days, it looks like Earth’s magnetic field is taking a break. Predictive Science Inc., which started releasing coronal predictions for total eclipses in 2017, released its new prediction for the state of the corona on April 8, 2024. It looks very exciting, with far more structure and complexity than the 2017 eclipse. The shape of the sun’s corona for the 2024 total solar eclipse will be much more complex than in 2017. This shows one of the differences between the sun during a solar maximum and a solar minimum. What a sight it should be! Just make sure to observe the sun safely and only look at it directly during totality if you are in the path at 100%. We will keep bringing you more sun news. Stay with us.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity dropped to moderate with the production of several M flares in the past day. But flaring production of our star increased during our observation period. Between 11 UTC yesterday and at 11 UTC today, the sun produced 25 flares: three Ms and 22 Cs. The largest event was an M1.9 flare from AR3616 at 0:36 UTC on March 26. An R1(minor) radio blackout occurred in the Pacific Ocean over Micronesia. The other M flare was an M1.0 from AR3615 at 10:10 UTC, March 26, causing an R1 (minor) radio blackout over middle Africa. Active region AR3615 continued flaring throughout the day, producing 18 flares in total. This active region continues to be the largest in size and the only one showing beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity, meaning it has the potential for larger explosions, including an X flare. Space weather forecasters keep a 25% chance of an X flare occurring mainly because of this sunspot, while the rest of the active regions show stability or decay with only alpha configurations. Two large new coronal holes are forming, one in the northwest quadrant near the north pole limb (edge) and a second in the southeast. Today the sun has eight numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side. We currently have strong lines in four sunspot regions in the northern and southern hemispheres. What a Solar Cycle 25 we’ve had so far!

Sun news for March 25, 2024: Strong geomagnetic storms, plus this sunspot!


Earth’s magnetic field took a rollercoaster ride over the past 24 hours! We reached minor-to-moderate geomagnetic storm levels (G1-G2) early yesterday. They increased to G4 (severe) for a brief time afterwards. During most of that time, it was still light outside for those of us in the Americas, but auroras were reported down to Tasmania in the Southern Hemisphere. And we were hearing aurora reports from Alaska last night, including a near-real-time report from Fairbanks about an hour before the time of this writing (those reports included sightings of STEVE). Meanwhile, activity at the sun was moderate to high, with 19 flares, all from AR3615, including an M4.5. This region still has a great deal of flaring potential. It has maintained its beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity and continues to increase in size. It has grown in area to almost that of seven Earths. It should be easily visible from the ground with the proper safe solar viewing methods both direct and indirect. Despite its prime location near disk center, the region has not thrown out any obvious Earth-directed CMEs, but there is still time. Stay tuned.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is moderate to high, with 19 flares from AR3615. This includes four Ms, and two of the remaining C flares were just shy of M1. The largest event was an M4.5 at 6:37 UTC on March 25, 2024. All of the M flares caused R1 radio blackouts, affecting areas centered on the location where the sun was highest in the sky. A large prominence erupted from the south pole region around 14:04 UTC on March 24, 2024. The sun has seven labeled active regions.

Scattered sunspot region.
Sun news March 25, 2024. This scattered sunspot region – AR3615 – has grown about 7 Earths in area! It should be easily visible from the ground with safe solar viewing methods, both direct and indirect.

Sun news for March 24, 2024: 17 M flares from 1 sunspot region!

The sun experienced a crazy amount of flaring over the past day, exclusively from sunspot region AR3615. The region just couldn’t seem to stop popping off M flares, which are moderately strong flares, one step below X. It produced 17 M flares in the past day. Many C flares were actually just below the threshold to make them M-class events. Solar energetic particles from yesterday’s halo CME continue at elevated levels. The radiation store briefly hit the S2 level but went it back to S1. This continues to cause radio disturbances in polar regions. On Earth, we saw the geomagnetic field move in and out of storming conditions. These were mostly G1 (minor) level events with an isolated G2 storm early March 24. This was due to a combination of fast solar wind from a coronal hole and the effects of miscellaneous minor coronal mass ejections (CMEs). All of this was enhanced because we are in aurora season near the March equinox. The skies did not disappointed with auroral displays reported at higher latitudes. The CME from yesterday’s duel region X flare is expected to reach Earth in the evening to early morning (Eastern US time), March 24-25. Storms up to G3 are predicted meaning aurora could reach the northern US and Europe. Good luck aurora watchers.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is high with 25 solar flares with 17 M flares and 8 C flares produced between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today. All the events came from hyperactive region, AR3615. The largest event was an M5.4 flare at 13:51 March 23. All of the M flares less than M5 caused R1 radio blackouts affect areas centered on the location when were the sun was highest in the sky. The M5.4 event caused an R2 level radio blackout. A few far side filament eruption were observed on the limbs (edges). A large, structured prominence is sitting on the southwest limb (edge). The sun has seven labeled active regions.

Sun news for March 23, 2024: X flare earlier today!

An interesting X1.1 flare just came from two separate sunspot regions – AR3614 and AR3615 – at 1:33 UTC this morning. It wasn’t a traditional event. Typically, an X flare comes from just one sunspot region. This one came as two nearly simultaneous flares (of uncertain size) together produced the equivalent output of an X1.1 flare. This event could be termed sympathetic flares, which is when one event follows another event nearly simultaneously. One event may instigate the other. The combined event caused an R3 (strong) radio blackout over Indonesia and Australia. The flare from AR3614 was due to a fast filament eruption. It’s difficult to determine the size of the two flares, but they’re probably both M-class events. The filament eruption produced a dimming, a wave and a coronal mass ejection (CME). The resulting CME is a halo event observed in both SOHO LASCO C2 and C3. The eruption also produced a small solar energetic particle event that can be seen as snow in the LASCO images. The particle event has reached S1 (minor) levels, and radio disruptions are resulting in Earth’s polar regions.
Last 24 hours: The filament eruption from AR3614 was not the only one during the observation period. A filament eruption from the same area about 12 hours earlier produced a more northward-directed CME. Both of these events are under analysis. While all this activity was happening at the sun, Earth was continuing to experience intermittent geomagnetic storming at the G1 (minor) level. Auroras have been reported at high latitudes. So, sun activity is high with the production of an X flare in the last 24 hours. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today the sun produced 18 flares, an X, four Ms and 13 C flares. The M flares from the period are:

  • M4.3 by AR3615 at 20:32 UTC on March 22. R1 (minor) radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean southeast of Hawaii.
  • M1.1 by AR3615 at 6:55 UTC on March 23. R1 (minor) radio blackout over Indian Ocean off the south coast of India.
  • M2.5 by AR3615 at 7:09 UTC on March 23. R1 (minor) radio blackout over Indian Ocean
  • M3.1 by AR3615 at 7:38 UTC on March 23. R1 (minor) radio blackout off east coast of Somalia

AR3615 is the big flare producer of the period. It produced nine flares: four Cs and four Ms, and was a joint producer of the X flare. AR3614 produced four C flares and participated in the production of the X1.1 flare. The sun has six labeled active regions. There are two newcomers: AR3620 on the sun’s southeast and AR3619 on the solar edge in the sun’s northeast.
Next 24 hours: The forecast is a 90% chance for C flares, an 80% chance for M flares, and a 30% chance for X flares.
Next expected CME:  A large filament eruption hurled a big chunk of solar stuff toward Earth creating a halo coronal mass ejection (CME). This eruption was associated with the large flare from AR3614, part of the two flares creating an X1.1 flare event. The event is under further analysis.
Current geomagnetic activity: Earth’s geomagnetic field is active at the time of this writing (11 UTC on March 23) with an ongoing G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm. There has been storming since the arrival of CMEs from the March 17 filament eruption. The most recent threshold (Kp = 5 threshold) was reached at 8:59 UTC. We are in aurora season now. Auroras happen more frequently around the equinoxes. That fact might increase the chances for a geomagnetic storming and auroral displays. More G1 geomagnetic storming conditions are expected for the rest of the day today. The magnetic field is anticipated to return to quiet levels tomorrow, March 24. Good luck, aurora chasers, and clear skies for you.

Sun news March 22, 2024: Auroras on Earth overnight, blasts on the sun


A late arrival of a long-awaited coronal mass ejection (CME) late yesterday – a chunk of stuff that left the sun on March 17 – brought a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm overnight. And that meant conditions for auroral displays at higher latitudes. The G1 threshold (Kp=5) was reached at 17:53 UTC on March 21. And it’s possible that conditions for G1 geomagnetic storming will be extended through the rest of the day today. Turning back to the sun, remember AR3590? It was the biggest sunspot of Solar Cycle 25 when it last appeared on the sun a few weeks ago, and it also produced three X flares. Well, it recently came back to the Earth-facing side of the sun, and now appears in the northeast, re-labeled as AR3614. It’s much smaller now and is inactive. But yesterday, there was a large filament eruption in the vicinity of AR3614. The event produced a C5.8 flare at 18:19 UTC on March 21. A huge CME was observed leaving this part of the sun by the LASCO C2 and C3 instruments on NASA’s sun-observing SOHO spacecraft. Also in the past 24 hours, the opposite side of the sun – the southwest quadrant – produced a filament eruption, too. It included another big CME, a chunk of sun-stuff seen leaving our star. Both filament eruptions – from the northeast and southwest – are under analysis to determine if there is any component of sun-stuff coming our way.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is back to low. The last 24 hours saw both lower flare strength and a lower number of flares. The sun produced only C flares , eight in total. The largest was a C8.7.flare from active region AR3615 at 11:32 UTC on March 21. AR3515 was the lead flare producer of the day once again, producing five Cs. It was followed by AR3514 (formerly historic AR3590), which produced two C flares. One of the flares, a C5.8 flare at 18:19 UTC on March 21, was associated with a filament eruption. The sun has eight labeled active regions. There are two newcomers: AR3618 on the sun’s southwest and AR3619 on the solar edge in the sun’s northeast. AR3615 looked promising for big flares – even X flares – earlier this week. But now, while continuing to increase in size (mostly from spreading apart), its flaring levels have dropped. But it still maintains magnetic complexity; it might still harbor some larger events. We will wait and see.
Next 24 hours: The forecast is a 99% chance for C flares, a 45% chance for M flares, and a 5% chance for X flares.
Next expected CME:  A couple of events produced coronal mass ejections. An exploding filament on the northeast associated with a C5.8 flare by AR3614 and a filament eruption on the southwest. Both events are under analysis to find out if there is a component coming our way. No other CMEs were observed in available coronagraph imagery.
Current geomagnetic activity: Earth’s geomagnetic field is unsettled at the time of this writing (11 UTC on March 22). A late arrival of the expected CME from March 17 brought a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm late yesterday. As you may know, we’re in aurora season now. That is, auroras happen more frequently around the equinoxes. That fact might increase the chances for a geomagnetic storming and auroral displays. More G1 geomagnetic storming conditions are expected for the rest of the day today. The magnetic field is anticipated to return to quiet levels tomorrow March 23. Good luck, aurora chasers, and clear skies for you.

Sun news March 21, 2024: Check out these 2 big sunspots!

We’ve been getting lots of images of the two big sunspot regions now crossing the Earth-facing side of our star. They are AR3614 and AR3615. Each is as big as the Earth! And one of them, AR3614, has a history. When we last saw it on the Earth-facing sun, a couple of weeks ago, it was the biggest sunspot of Solar Cycle 25 so far. And it produced 3 X flares! Now AR3614 has shrunk from the size of 10 Earths to about 1 Earth in diameter. And it’s not showing any activity; it’s been quiet since it returned. Meanwhile, its neighbor on the sun, AR3615, has been blasting away with M flares over the past few days. The largest event of the past day – at 22:55 UTC on March 20 – was an M2 flare from AR3615. The flare caused an R1 (minor) radio blackout, affecting an area in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This isolated M2 flare from AR3615 brought today’s sun activity level to moderate.
Last 24 hours: An isolated M flare has brought sun activity to moderate during the past day. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, solar flaring production went from 18 flares yesterday to 14 flares during our observation period, 1 M plus 10 Cs. AR3615 was the lead flare producer as described above. AR3616 and AR3607 produced the other C flares. The sun has seven numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side. Today we have a newcomer, AR3617, rotating into view from the southeast limb (edge).

Sun news March 20, 2024: Big sunspot group defies expectations

Sun activity is high after a huge M7.4 flare from sunspot group AR3615. It also blasted an M2.1 flare, cementing its place as the most active sunspot for another day in a row. But this wasn’t in the script! We all expected nearby region AR3614 to be blasting the big flares at the moment. Why? Because the last time AR3614 rotated across the Earth-viewed solar disk we knew it as AR3590, a gigantic sunspot group that blasted out several X flares including the biggest flare of this solar cycle so far. But now, on its second pass around the sun, this sunspot has lost a lot of size and ferocity. It’s been really quiet since arriving back into view, and didn’t blast a single flare over the past day. Good thing its friend AR3615 is around to bring the excitement!
Last 24 hours: The western limb is keeping up its active filament action, but with no eruptions. One of these filaments looked a little phoenix-like to one of today’s authors – see what you think in the video above! Sun activity was high over the past day after an M7.4 flare from AR3615 at 7:36 UTC on March 20. The region also produced an M2.1 flare at 23:27 UTC on March 19. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced 18 flares: the two Ms and 16 Cs. Shortly after the M7.4, an R2 (moderate) radio blackout affected an area over the Indian Ocean off the south coast of India. The M2.1 flare produced an R1 (minor) radio blackout over the middle of the Pacific Ocean. AR3615 produced the two Ms along with 12 Cs, and has shown growth since it rotated into view. It is now showing a beta-gamma magnetic complexity, while AR3614 – formerly AR3590 – is showing a beta-delta configuration. The sun has six numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side. We await the arrival of the two coronal mass ejections from a March 17 filament eruption later today into tomorrow.  Active to storming conditions are possible, meaning possible auroral displays. Clear skies, aurora watchers!

Sun news March 19, 2024: Flares and filaments to celebrate the equinox

Happy March equinox! The changing of the seasons happens tonight at 20:06 CDT (3:06 UTC on March 20), when our star will cross directly over Earth’s equator. And the sun is already getting the celebrations going, with activity jumping up to high after an M6.7 flare from AR3615. Plus, in the southwest we saw a prominence eruption that launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) southward. Specialists are currently performing analysis to see if it could be coming our way. We’re still waiting on two earlier CMEs to hit Earth, currently expected overnight on March 20. They’re very well timed, because auroras are twice as likely to occur around the equinoxes! Will the equinox celebrations be topped off with some beautiful auroras tomorrow night? Fingers crossed.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is high after an M6.7 flare. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced 19 flares: two Ms and 17 Cs. The largest was the M6.7 flare fired at 19:19 on March 18. We might have expected such a big flare to come from the sunspot region formerly known as AR3590, which has wowed us with X flares in the past. But it was actually from its new companion in the southeast, AR3615. ARthe M6.7 flare, an R2 (moderate) radio blackout affected an area over the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Galapagos Island. AR3615’s second M flare, an M1.4 at 2:29 UTC on March 19, produced an R1 (minor) radio blackout over Papua New Guinea. The sun has seven numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side. We have two newcomers today. One, AR3615, is on the southeast limb (edge), and has been flaring since it was still beyond the horizon. And in the northwest quadrant we have AR3616, near AR3608.

Sun news March 18, 2024: Big sunspot returned! Plus 2 M flares, CMEs coming

AR3590 is back! We last saw it on the Earth-facing side of our star a couple of weeks ago, when it was the biggest sunspot region of Solar Cycle 25 so far. At that time, it also produced three X flares! It survived its passage to the far side of our star (from our earthly perspective). And now the sun’s rotation has carried it back into view. It has already produced one of two M flares over the past day. And it has a new number. It’s now AR3614. Plus, yesterday’s filament eruption sent two Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) toward Earth. They should bring active levels to Earth’s geomagnetic field with the possibility of a good auroral display, probably around the second half of March 20 … just in time for the equinox (which, as you may know, is aurora season). P.S. The big sun day is fast approaching; T-21 days until the total solar eclipse!
Last 24 hours: Over the past day, we had two M flares keeping sun activity moderate. An M 2.8 came at 3:21 UTC on March 18 from departing region AR3612 just over the sun’s western limb. It was followed by an M 1.0 at 4:06 UTC from the newly numbered region AR3614 (formerly AR3590). Will this region crank out the flares as it did on its previous visit? Stay tuned to find out. Otherwise, between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced two M and 11 C flares. Both M flares caused temporary radio blackouts over Southeast Asia. The sun has six numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news March 17, 2024: It’s flare time

Sun activity is now moderate because we’ve seen substantially more flares over the last 24 hours. The sun went from two C flares the day before … to 14 C and two M flares over the past 24 hours. Most of the new flaring came from regions just over the sun’s eastern horizon. A few of the flares came from the north, the region we think is AR3590. That region reached a record size for Solar Cycle 25 and produced three X flares in the space of 24 hours, when we last saw it on the sun’s visible face a couple of weeks ago. But most of the excitement over the past day came from an unknown region in the sun’s southeast. This mystery area produced the two M flares and seven of the C flares. It doesn’t appear to correspond to any region from the previous solar rotation. When it comes into view on the sun’s visible face, assuming that it survives the next few days, it’ll be interesting to see how big and complex it is. The next question is: will AR3590, which will be renumbered, have as much oomph as it did the first time around? If so, it’ll be fun to watch! By the way, the solar disk also displayed some action with a fast filament eruption coming from the south-central disk at 3:12 UTC on March 16. The resulting coronal mass ejection (CME) looks to be largely southward-directed, but we must wait for additional analysis to determine if there’s an Earth-directed component. Stay tuned for more sun news. P.S. The big sun day is fast approaching; T-22 days until the total solar eclipse!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is moderate. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced two M and 14 C flares. The largest event was an M3.5 flare at 16:44 UTC on March 16 from an unseen sunspot region over the southeast limb (edge). This region produced the other M1.2 flare and seven of the C flares. Both M flares caused temporary radio blackouts over South America for the M3.5 flare and the Pacific for the M1.2 flare. The sun has six numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news March 16, 2024: Solar particles shower Earth, giant sunspot returns

Over the last few days, the sun erupted in prominences, filaments, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and now solar energetic particles, aka high energy protons. The CME yesterday from sunspot region AR3599 was not Earth-directed but accelerated protons to near lightspeed. The particles have charge, which means they spiral around (and follow) magnetic fields. That’s why – even though the CME wasn’t aimed at us – the protons headed toward us and are still showering Earth. The sun’s magnetic field curves out from the west side of the sun back toward Earth, so the fast protons follow the magnetic field (like a magnetic particle highway) and buffet our planet. But don’t worry, most air traffic and those of us on Earth’s surface are protected from the solar particles by our planet’s thick atmosphere and magnetic field. Meanwhile, large coronal loops in the northeast indicate a new sunspot region is incoming, which solar scientists have confirmed via helioseismology. This region is most likely the former AR3590, the largest region of Solar Cycle 25 and three-time X flare producer. It should become visible in the next two days or so. And in the southeast, prominence activity keeps the action humming. Plus, remember, the big sun day is fast approaching; T-23 days until the total solar eclipse. Hey, what if the sun is very active during the eclipse? That could be interesting. More on this in the next few days …
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced two C flares. The largest event was a C1.8 flare at 12:09 UTC on March 15. The sun has four numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news March 15, 2024: Low flaring doesn’t mean low activity

The sun may not have produced many flares over the past day, but it certainly produced action! The sun-show was largely in the southwest, where AR3599 continues to bring us activity even from over the solar horizon. We saw a host of active filaments from that region, as well as an enormous prominence eruption. The SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO C2 instrument observed the beautiful blast at 3:40 UTC on March 15 – check it out in the video above. The action isn’t only around AR3599, though. The eastern limb (edge) is also teeming with activity. Large coronal loops in the northeast indicate a new sunspot region is incoming, which solar scientists have confirmed via helioseismology. It should start to become visible in the next 2 or so days. And in the southeast, prominence activity is keeping action going. If the activity in the east continues over the next few days, it’s likely we’ll see the flaring pickup. And remember, the big sun day is fast approaching; T-24 days until the total solar eclipse. Hey, what if the sun is very active during the eclipse? Could that be interesting? More on this in the next few days…
Last 24 hours: In terms of flaring, sun activity is low. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced only eight C flares, all of which were produced by AR3599. The largest event was a C6 flare at 6:19 UTC on March 15. All the flares from AR3599 are certainly smaller than we’re able to measure, because the sunspot region’s position over the limb (edge) means that its flares are all partially occulted (blocked) by the sun itself. The sun has three numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side, including a newcomer in the northeast quadrant, AR3611.

Sun news March 14, 2024: Filament fiesta and happy Pi Day!


It’s been a filament fiesta on the sun over the past 24 hours! A bright area in the southwest quadrant produced erupting filaments and prominences all day as sunspot region AR3599 began to rotate out of view. This activity culminated in an M1.0 flare: the icing on the party cake. The action isn’t all departing, though. A bright area in the southeast is bringing more activity our way, and we also saw a beautiful, large filament in the northeast coming from behind the solar horizon. That suggests that some active regions in that area will also be coming into view soon. And to top off the action, we saw an erupting filament in the central north hemisphere hurl huge amounts of ejecta into space. We anticipate this coronal mass ejection (CME) is not coming our way at Earth, but we will wait to hear what specialists say after modeling and analysis. It was a good day for a filament fiesta, as we’re also celebrating Pi Day! In the United States, the date is 3.14.24: a day to celebrate a truly universal number, Pi, or 3.14159 … ad infinitum. Measuring the sun is another way to estimate the number Pi. The circumference of the sun (length around the solar disk) divided by the diameter of the sun (length across the disk) is approximately equal to 3.14. There are two reasons that the result for the sun is not exactly Pi: firstly, because we do not have a perfect measurement of circumference and diameter for the sun. And secondly, because we cannot express Pi as a rational number. That is, as far as we know, its digits past 3.14 go on forever…
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is moderate after an isolated M flare. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced 13 flares; an M, eight Cs, and four Bs flares. The largest event, the M1.0 flare, was produced by departing active region AR3599 in the southwest at 6:04 UTC on March 14. The blast caused an R1 (minor) radio blackout that affected an area in the South Indian Ocean off the west coast of Indonesia. The lead flare producer was sunspot region AR3599 with 11 flares out of the 13, including the M. The rest of its flares may have in truth been larger, since they were partially occulted (blocked) by the sun itself. The sun has six numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side. There are three newcomers: AR3608 and AR3609 in the northeast quadrant and AR3610 in the southeast.

Sun news March 13, 2024: Dueling prominences and a solar storm anniversary

Eyes are on the solar poles today, where two simultaneous prominences have been having an entrancing dance battle. The GOES-18 satellite gave us a great view of these dueling ropes of solar plasma. While we also saw some fiery filaments in the southwest, sun activity over the past day was otherwise largely quiet … a far cry from the same day 35 years ago, when we saw the infamous March 1989 geomagnetic storm! This disturbance of Earth’s magnetic field was so severe that it sent Quebec, Canada into a blackout, after electrical currents induced by the storm knocked out the power grid. The storm was caused by a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) hurled into space on March 10, just a few days after a mega X15 flare on March 6. This was a particularly active period in Solar Cycle 22. Will we experience another event like this during the currently peaking Solar Cycle 25? Maybe! But, if so, it likely won’t cause the same level of power outages. Since the 1989 solar storm, earthly power companies have become more aware of the possibilities of solar storms causing these sorts of effects. And they’ve taken steps – including raising the trip level, installing series compensation on ultra high voltage lines and upgrading various monitoring and operational procedures – to help reduce or eliminate solar storm effects in their systems.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity remains low with the production of only B and C flares over the past day. A total of 14 flares were produced between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC: 11 Cs and three B flares. The largest was a C3.4 flare, sparked by an unnumbered active region in the southwest at 11:49 UTC on March 12. This unnumbered region was the most active of the past day, with 8 C flares. We saw some filament fury in the vicinity of departing sunspot region AR3599. There is good chance we’ll see this large sunspot region produce more activity after it’s passed over the western limb (edge). Currently the sun has five numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side. Two are newcomers: AR3606 in the northeast quadrant and AR3607 in the southeast.

Sun news March 12, 2024: Mars rover spots 2 large incoming sunspots

We’ve spotted some huge prominences billowing from the sun’s far side over the past few days, and now we know what caused them. While our solar satellites can only see the Earth-facing side of the sun, NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars has a perfect view of the likely culprits: two large sunspots on the sun’s far side. And one of them is a familiar face: remember AR3590? That’s the gargantuan sunspot region that produced 3 X flares in its time on the Earth-facing sun, including the biggest flare of Solar Cycle 25 so far. And it looks like it’s not done yet! It should rotate back into view in 5-7 days, so we could have more major action on the way – stay tuned.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is back to low, with only B and C flares during the past day. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today we observed nine Cs and three Bs. The largest was a C2.6 from sunspot region AR3599 at 4:08 UTC on March 12. This sunspot group was the most productive (and only) flare producer. It has kept its promising beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity, so it still has the potential to provide big flares before departing over the southwest horizon. The other three sunspot regions on the sun’s Earth-facing side remain stable or in decay, showing low-potential alpha or beta magnetic configurations. Meanwhile, eclipse season for the GOES-16 satellite is ongoing. In the imagery from the SUVI instrument aboard the spacecraft, you can see Earth’s shadow in different extreme ultraviolet wavelengths as it passes between the sun and the satellite.

Sun news March 11, 2024: Big solar flare sends sun-stuff toward Earth

Sunspot region AR3599 has shown a lot of potential over recent days, and now it’s started living up to it. It blasted a big M7.4 flare at 12 UTC yesterday. And this eruption caused a coronal mass ejection (CME) – a huge blob of plasma and magnetic fields – to launch out into space. The CME is largely headed past Earth, but analysis shows it may graze our planet late on March 13. And that means a small chance for geomagnetic storming and perhaps even auroras. Stay tuned!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity levels are moderate after the production of an M7.4 flare from AR3599 at 12 UTC on March 10. The region produced most of the period’s 18 flares fired between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today. Of the 18 events, 10 were Cs, seven were Bs, and one was an M. The M flare produced an R2 (moderate) radio blackout over western Africa and the Atlantic. We also saw more spectacular activity on the rear side of the sun, with a large prominence eruption observed over the western limb (edge) at around 20 UTC on March 20. The sun currently has six sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news March 10, 2024: Spectacular eruption!

The sun is at it again. Another prominence, even more spectacular than yesterday, occurred around 22 UTC on March 9 off the sun’s northeastern limb. It came from the far side of the sun. The plasma loop expanded to a length longer the diameter of the sun and quickly left the GOES-R SUVI field of view where it was picked up as a very bright, fast coronal mass ejection, or CME, by the SOHO LASCO C2 telescope. Another, smaller, prominence erupted from the southeastern limb at 23:37 UTC on March 9. None of these eruption were Earth-directed. But we await further analysis to determine if any component is headed our way. It was definitely a filament/prominence-dominated day. Stay tuned for more sun fun on a Sunday!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low with B and C flares. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced five flares. The largest was an C1.4 flare from AR3599 at 20:14 UTC on March 9. AR3599 remained the most active of the period with four of the five flares. The region continues to be the largest in size and the only one with magnetic complexity, regaining its delta configuration. The sun has six sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news March 9, 2024: Fantastical prominence eruption

Early this morning, a huge prominence erupted off the southeast limb, hurling solar plasma into space. The eruption began at around 2 UTC on March 9. At its largest – and while it was still connected to the sun – it measured at least 600,000 kilometers (375,000 miles) long. That’s close to the radius of the sun itself! This relatively fast eruption created a coronal mass ejection (CME), which is heading off to the east of the sun. A small increase in flaring occurred thanks to an M flare from AR3599. The M1.3 flare was impulsive, meaning it was short in duration and didn’t have enough energy to drive a significant coronal mass ejection (CME). The event is still under analysis, but an Earth-directed CME is unlikely. There’s still a possibility for a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm today due to the combined effects of a glancing CME and solar wind from a coronal hole. This is all boosted because we are in aurora season when conditions are especially optimal for auroral activity. There is still hope for auroral displays. Stay tuned.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is moderate thanks to an isolated M flare during the past day. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the sun produced 10 flares. The largest was an M1.3 flare from AR3599 at 21:26 UTC on March 8. An R1 (minor) radio blackout occurred, affecting an area in the Pacific Ocean over the equator. AR3599 remained the most active of the period. It produced nine of the 10 flares, including the M. The region continues to be the largest in size and the only one with magnetic complexity, despite losing its delta configuration. The sun has six sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side, three in the northern hemisphere and three in the southern.

Sun news March 8, 2024: Auroras incoming tonight?


The EarthSky sun news team created this video for you. Will we have auroras tonight?

Overnight last night, Earth’s magnetic field was unsettled by a transient. That’s the word scientists use when they measure a disturbance to our magnetic field … but aren’t 100% sure what caused it. And we’re all hoping last night’s disturbance wasn’t caused by an earlier-than-predicted arrival of the coronal mass ejection (CME) fired from the sun on March 5. We hope that great blob of sun-stuff holds off a bit in striking us … because, if it comes tonight as predicted yesterday, it should combine with fast solar wind that has been streaming toward Earth through a coronal hole (a dark area in the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere). And, if so, the CME and fast solar wind should combine to provoke a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm this evening (by clocks in the Americas), bringing with it beautiful auroras. Will it happen? We don’t know yet!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low with only B and C flares, although flaring productivity has again increased slightly compared to the previous day. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today we saw 16 flares: three Bs and 13 C flares. The largest was a C6.3 from sunspot region AR3599 at 12:07 UTC on March 7. And this region – which was the past day’s most active, with 12 flares – is today showing even more promise. Over the past day it grew more sunspots and reached a beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity, the most complex there is. That means it now has good potential for M and even X flares. And since it’s now directly facing Earth, any coronal mass ejections (CMEs) it produces could bring us some serious auroras! Elsewhere on the solar disk, we saw an enormous jet-prominence at around 22 UTC last night. It came from the vicinity of departed region AR3595 behind the northwest horizon. A corresponding coronal mass ejection was registered by the SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO C3 instrument, but it is not coming our way. Also in this imagery – which you can check out below – we can see Mercury departing from view in the lower left after its superior conjunction with Saturn last week. Saturn, in the lower right, will depart within the next day. The sun currently has six sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side.

NOAA aurora forecast, showing a good likelihood of auroras across Canada and the far northern US.
The arrival of a coronal mass ejection (CME) fired from the sun on March 5 could bring beautiful auroras across northern latitudes tonight. Image via NOAA.

Sun news March 7, 2024: Sun-stuff coming. Auroras possible Friday night!


The EarthSky sun news team created this video for you. Will you see auroras Friday night?

Auroras are in sight! A coronal mass ejection (CME) – a great blob of sun-stuff – is expected to disturb Earth’s magnetic field overnight tomorrow (March 8). It left the sun in a filament eruption on March 5. As it’ll give us only a glancing blow, the CME alone probably won’t cause a strong reaction. But there’s also a fast solar wind currently streaming toward Earth through a coronal hole (a patch of lower density in the sun’s outer atmosphere). And, on top of that, this time of year is perfect for auroras. So it’s looking promising! Get ready, aurora-chasers. Friday night might be awesome!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low with only B and C flares, although flaring production increased slightly during the past day. We saw a total of 12 flares produced between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today: one B and 11 C flares. The largest was a C8.3 from sunspot region AR3599 at 6:23 UTC on March 7. All the C flares were produced by sunspot region AR3599. The only B flare was from the now-departed AR3595 in northwest. AR3599 is the largest sunspot region, and the only active region that has a beta-gamma configuration, meaning it has potential for more C and M flares. The rest of the sunspots show simple alpha and beta configurations. The sun currently has six sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news March 6, 2024: Earth eclipses sun! GOES satellite eclipse season


Where did the sun go? That’s what you might be asking if you took a look at imagery from the GOES-16 satellite over the past day. We’re currently in GOES eclipse season. During this season – which began on February 27 and will last until April 12 – Earth comes between the spacecraft and the sun every day. The length of the eclipse starts off at around 30 minutes, increasing with each day to a peak of about 70 minutes, then decreasing back to 30 minutes. So this season is not a favourite of solar observers; the GOES-16 spacecraft is the primary solar viewing mission from NOAA, and provides the extreme-ultraviolet images EarthSky often relies upon. But on the bright side, the satellite eclipse on April 8 will not be at the same time as the April 8 total solar eclipse. So, luckily for solar physicists, GOES-16 will be able to make observations of the big event. Phew!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low. With only one B and six C flares produced between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, the main action has been from prominences and filaments, mainly in the east and at the poles. A nice eruption also occurred off the western limb (edge). A filament in the southeastern quadrant also erupted, producing a coronal mass ejection (CME) visible in the SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO C2 and C3 imagery. The CME appears to be headed mostly to the southeast, but further analysis is needed to determine if there is an Earth-directed component. The largest flare of the past day was a C2.7 from AR3598 in the southwest at 11:25 UTC on March 5. The sun currently has eight sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side. AR3604 is a newcomer region in the northeast. AR3598 is the largest and most magnetically complex. The rest of the active regions on the solar disk are stable or decaying and show low-potential alpha or beta magnetic configurations.

Sun news March 5, 2024: Prominences and filaments flaunting their stuff

Flare-wise, the past day on the sun has been calm. But great arcs of sun-stuff – prominences – are dancing across the eastern edge of the visible sun, the side just now rotating into view. And we’re seeing filaments (same as prominences, but not on the edge) in that area, too. Both filaments and prominences are ropes of solar material, elevated from the sun’s chromosphere (or lower atmosphere) into the corona (upper atmosphere) by magnetic fields. One of these prominences has been dancing around the northeastern limb (edge), while another was seen straddling the northern and southern hemispheres. And a long filament in the northeast lifted off, sending billions of tons of solar plasma hurtling into space. Given the filament’s off-center location, this coronal mass ejection (CME) is not heading Earthward. But as these eastern regions rotate more into view in the coming days, they will bring with them a higher chance of plasma being sent our way, hopefully provoking beautiful auroral displays. Stay tuned.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low, with only faint C flares over the past day. From 11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today, the sun produced seven C flares. The largest was a C1.6 flare from AR3595 at 12:11 UTC on March 3. The sun currently has nine sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side. There are two newcomers on the northeast quadrant, numbered AR3602 and AR3603. AR3601 was numbered, but then vanished rapidly. The largest in size and magnetic complexity is AR3595 with a beta-gamma configuration. This active region is now located almost over the northwest limb, soon to be carried out of view in the next day or two. The rest of the active regions on the solar disk show low-potential alpha or beta configurations, and are stable or in decay.

Sun news March 4, 2024: Sun-stuff sparks Earthly auroras

The EarthSky sun news team reports on the 1st geomagnetic storm of 2024! It took place last night, bringing a strong display of auroras to Earth’s high latitudes.

We had our first geomagnetic storm of 2024 last night. Auroras! Yay! A coronal mass ejection (CME) – a great chunk of sun-stuff – left the sun on February 28. It rattled Earth’s magnetic field last night, lighting up northern skies with an auroral showcase. This CME disturbed the geomagnetic field to storming levels, first at the G1 (minor) scale then up to G2 (moderate). The CME arrived at Earth at 8:45 UTC followed by a G1 storm then a G2 storm ending just before March 4. Auroras were reported from Maine to Fairbanks, from the UK to Ireland, all the way over to Norway. It was an amazing show and as some of the seasoned aurora-chasers commented, “we ain’t seen nothin’ yet” (the author’s words.) Bring on the geomagnetic storms and fantastical displays, Solar Max. Stay tuned.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low with 16 C flares over the past day from 11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today. The largest events were two C3.1 flares from AR3590 and AR3592 at 16:41 UTC and 17:20 UTC respectively on March 3. The most notable activity of the day was not on the sun but at Earth. Aurora caused by the arrival of a CME from February 28. The impact jarred Earth’s magnetic shield, the magnetosphere, first causing a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm, which increased to G2 (moderate) levels. The G1 storm started around 18:45 UTC and reached G2 levels around 21:00 UTC on March 3, continuing until the end of March 3. The sun showed some nice prominence eruptions off the eastern limb. The sun has six sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side.

Sun news March 3, 2024: A calm day on our active star


The EarthSky sun news team created this video for you. Happy sun day!

It’s a calm Sunday after weeks of amazing activity due to the now departed sunspot region AR3590. This is a normal scene as we approach solar maximum. As the sun’s activity increases we expect to see periods of larger and larger activity as the time between the periods decreases. This is the natural progression of the sun’s activity cycle. Even on a calm day, the active sun can produce some fantastic action. Today, a gorgeous filament erupted over the sun’s northeastern limb (edge). Enjoy your day, and stay tuned for what the sun brings next.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low due the 11 C flares produced over the past day from 11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today. The largest event was a C6.6 flare from AR3595 at 12:47 UTC on March 2. The sun has six sunspot regions on its Earth-facing side.

The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with dark spots, each labeled.
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 0 UTC on March 4, 2024. Original image, without labels, via NASA SDO. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky. Today’s sun is posted by Armando Caussade. Why are east and west on the sun reversed?

Sun news March 2, 2024: Farewell AR3590, and thanks for all the fun

AR3590 has fully rotated out of view, remaining the largest and most active region of solar cycle 25 (SC25). Most of its transit it showed a beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity, today reduced to an alpha but mostly since our foreshortened view don’t allow a complete analysis. We can now see the region from the Mars Perseverance Mastcam-Z. The camera is very low resolution and despite this limitation AR3590 is very obvious given its massive size. This region is one for the record books: Producer of the largest X flare of SC 25, so far, an X6.4 flare; producer of three X flares in less than 24 hours, lead flare producer of the week not to mention is giant size as one the largest we have seen during SC25 measuring the surface area of almost 9 Earths. Farewell AR3590. Shall we meet again? Take a look at our summary gallery of the now historic sunspot active region AR3590.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity remains low with only C flares produced in the past day. Flaring production also reduced. During our observation period from 11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today, the sun produced nine C flares. The largest event consists of two C2.9 flares produced during the period. Both came from the northwest nearly simultaneously. The first was the only flare produced by departing AR3590 at 5:18 UTC and the second by a neighbor, active region AR3595, produced shortly after at 5:58 UTC on March 2. The lead flare producer was newcomer, AR3599, which rotated into view on the southeast limb (edge). It produced three C flares. This is the region in the southeast we have been expecting to rotate into view. We will keep watching and find out what it’s got in store. Active region AR3595 has a beta-gamma configuration, the rest either alpha or beta. The sun has six active regions on its Earth-facing side.
Next 24 hours: The forecast is a 99% chance for C flares, a 50% chance for M flares, and a 10% chance for X flares.

Sun news March 1, 2024: Dancing prominences and a sun crown


The EarthSky sun news team created this video for you. Enjoy!

Over the past day, we’ve seen prominences – ropes of solar material and magnetic fields – dancing all around the sun’s limb (edge). A notable one is the long-lasting prominence on the south pole, whirling like a dust devil here on Earth. The western limb appears fiery too, as giant sunspot region AR3590 – which produced the biggest X flare of the current solar cycle – begins to pass over the horizon. It departs producing jets, flares and prominences. As we lose this active region, we seem to be gaining another; on the southeastern horizon we’ve seen similar jets, flares and prominences, and helioseismology is showing a big sunspot region over the horizon that will come into view soon. Action on the way!
Last 24 hours: During our observation period from 11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today, the sun produced 14 C flares. That makes sun activity low. The largest event was a C4 flare from AR3590 at 1:25 UTC on March 1. Departing AR3590 remains the lead flare producer with eight Cs over the past day. The sun currently has seven active regions on its Earth-facing side. A newcomer, AR3598, emerged on the southwest quadrant.

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Sun

C. Alex Young

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About the Author:
C. Alex Young is a solar astrophysicist studying the Sun and space weather. Alex is passionate about sharing science with diverse audiences. This led him to start The Sun Today with his designer wife, Linda. First through Facebook and Twitter then adding an extensive website thesuntoday.org, the two work together to engage the public about the Sun and its role in our solar system. Alex led national engagement efforts for the 2017 total solar eclipse. He is the Associate Director for Science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Raúl Cortés

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About the Author:
Raúl Cortés studied engineering at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico, obtained a scholarship to continue his studies in Japan and after returning to Monterrey he got credits on MBA from the Graduate School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Faculty. He became a teacher at the University UANL teaching Math and Physics and dedicated the rest of his professional career to serve in engineering areas for USA, Japan and Germany based corporations. His passion for the skies go back to when he was a child, always intrigued about the stars and constellations and reading and researching about the matter. From 2010 on, he dedicated his attention to photographing the stars, constellations, the moon and the sun. Raúl's work on his photography has been published and posted on the ESC as well as in other platforms and has gained attention to be published by local Monterrey newspapers.

Armando Caussade

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About the Author:
Armando is well known as an astronomy educator, after 30+ years leading extensive initiatives of public outreach and 10+ years teaching in colleges. As one of only a handful of Puerto Rican science communicators during Comet Halley's last visit, he assumed a pioneering role starting in 1985 when science was just beginning to enter the local mindset; over time his work brought meaningful change to the culture, inspiring people to pursue interests in science and technology. His affiliations include Ana G. Méndez University–Cupey, where in 2014 he spearheaded an 8-course extension program focusing on observational astronomy, the first ever in the island.

Michael Maimone

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About the Author:
Michael Maimone is an assistant editor for EarthSky and has always had a strong passion for communicating scientific complexity in a way that could easily be understood by anyone. Michael graduated from Penn State University in 2019 with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Planetary Science & Astronomy and Meteorology & Atmospheric Science. He has experience in radio astronomy research with the Green Bank Observatory and even as a mission operations specialist for NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers. He is currently working towards a master’s degree in systems engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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