Sun news: C-flares numbers spike up to 28!

Sun news August 3: C-flares numbers spike up to 28!

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

Today’s top story: Sun activity has been low this week and remains low. But C-flare activity has surged. In the past day, the sun produced 28 C-class flares, a dramatic uptick from previous days. The largest of these was a C4.3 flare from AR4168 at 2:45 UTC on August 3. This region was only recently numbered and is rapidly developing in the sun’s northeast. It might become a key player in the days ahead. Meanwhile, sunspot region AR4167 in the northwest continues to grow and remains the largest and most magnetically complex region on the disk. It produced multiple C flares in the past day, too.

• Flare number jumped significantly over the past 24 hours, while flare strength remained low, as described above. The 28 C-flares of the past day mark the highest flare production in several days, signaling growing solar tension that could lead to stronger flares soon.
• There are seven sunspot regions currently visible on the Earth-facing disk. The most prominent, AR4167 in the northwest, is both the largest and most magnetically complex (beta-gamma configuration), continuing to grow with additional intermediate spots. In the northeast, AR4168 has emerged as a fast-growing and increasingly complex region, now showing strong flare potential. The remaining sunspot regions are smaller, magnetically simple, and either stable or showing signs of decay.
• Blasts from the sun? No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed in available coronagraph imagery during the period.
• Solar wind conditions remained slightly elevated due to lingering influence from a coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS). Solar wind speeds varied between 440–555 km/s, while the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength remained average. The Bz component briefly dipped southward, but mostly fluctuated northward and southward. Conditions are gradually trending back toward background levels.
• Earth’s magnetic field was quiet to unsettled in the past day (Kp = 2-3), typical of moderate solar wind interaction. It is at Kp = 1+ at the time of this writing (11 UTC on August 3).

What’s ahead? Sun-Earth forecast

• Flare activity forecast: The chance for M (moderate) flares is 35% today, and the chance for X (strong) flares is 5% today.
• Geomagnetic activity forecast: Geomagnetic conditions should be mostly quiet to unsettled today, August 3, as solar wind influence continues to wane. However, a new coronal hole high-speed stream is anticipated to reach Earth by August 4, bringing a chance for active geomagnetic conditions and a slight chance of a G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm. Effects may linger into August 5 before diminishing.

Sun news August 2: More action on the sun’s edges.

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

While solar flare activity remains quiet, the limbs of the sun are where the real action is happening. Two prominences put on a show: The first appeared as an arched prominence on the eastern horizon around 17:00 UTC on August 1—a region rotating into view soon. The second was a filament eruption near the solar north pole, which lifted off at 07:40 UTC on August 2. Both ejections sent plasma flying into space, but neither is Earth-directed, as they occurred too far east and north, respectively. Still, these limb eruptions are often a sign of incoming active regions, so we’ll be keeping a close watch.

• Flare activity Still at low levels, with only eight C flares recorded over the past 24 hours. Two C3.4 flares were the largest: One from AR4153 at 12:39 UTC and another from AR4155 at 18:17 UTC, both on August 1. AR4153 was again the most active region, producing five C-class flares during the period.
• There are seven sunspot regions currently visible on the Earth-facing disk. The spotlight is on AR4167, which has developed a beta-gamma magnetic complexity, making it slightly more complex and potentially more flare-capable. All other regions remain simple (alpha or beta) and are either stable or in decay, suggesting a calm solar to come.
• Blasts from the sun? A coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed during the C3.4 flare from AR4153, but initial analysis suggests it will miss Earth. No other CMEs were observed in available coronagraph imagery during the past 24 hours.
• Solar wind speeds averaged around 500 km/s (1,118,000 mph) over the past 24 hours, with several peaks of 540 km/s (1,208,000 mph) during all the period. At the time of this writing (11 UTC on August 1) the solar wind speed dropped down to 452 km/s (1,011,000 mph). The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength remained at a low level. The Bz component, which helps determine how much solar wind can enter Earth’s magnetosphere, kept fluctuating.  Half of the period it was northward and the other half southward. It moved south at the time of this writing. A southward Bz is favorable for auroras.
• Earth’s magnetic field was mostly unsettled (Kp = 2-3) in the past 24 hours. It is at Kp = 2 at the time of this writing (11 UTC on August 2).

Sun news August 1: Solar southwest continues hurling plasma

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

Today’s top story: The southwest quadrant of the sun continues to show signs of activity, even as overall flare production remains low. At around 6:00 UTC on August 1, the sun hurled a blob of plasma into space from the vicinity of active region AR4154. Meanwhile, AR4153 remained lively, too, producing several small jets throughout the day. Just another day on our dynamic star. Stay tuned for more.

• Flare activity stayed at low levels over the past 24 hours, with the sun producing 11 faint C flares. The largest event was a C2.4 flare from active region AR4149 in the northwest. It occurred at 3:39 UTC on August 1. AR4153 occupies the place of lead flare producer of the past day, with four C flares.
• There are eight sunspot regions visible on the Earth-facing solar disk. All the labeled active regions have simple alpha or beta magnetic configurations and are either stable or in decay, suggesting a calm day to come. There is a newcomer, now labeled AR4167, in the northwest.
• Blasts from the sun? The filament eruption observed yesterday in the northeast was largely reabsorbed by the sun, with most of the ejected plasma falling back. No coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed during the past day.
• Solar wind speeds averaged around 450 km/s (1,007,000 mph) over the past day, with peaks of 540 km/s (1,208,000 mph) at 6 UTC on August 1. At the time of this writing (11 UTC on August 1) the solar wind speed is 462 km/s (1,033,000 mph). The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength remained at a low level. The Bz component, which helps determine how much solar wind can enter Earth’s magnetosphere, kept moving intermittently between north and south. It is northward at the time of this writing. A southward Bz is favorable for auroras.
• Earth’s magnetic field was mostly unsettled (Kp = 2-3) in the past day. It is at Kp = 3 at the time of this writing (11 UTC on August 1).

What’s ahead? Sun-Earth forecast

• Flare activity forecast: The chance for M (moderate) flares is 30% today, and the chance for X (strong) flares is 5% today.
• Geomagnetic activity forecast: Quiet-to-unsettled conditions are anticipated today, August 1, as effects of the solar wind from a coronal hole in the sun’s northern hemisphere starts to wane (the hole moved out of geoeffective position). Conditions should return to quiet on August 2, but August 3 might see unsettled-to-active conditions with a glancing blow by a CME hurled by the sun on July 30.

Sun news July 31: Two eruptions launch sun-stuff into space

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

Yesterday evening, a long-lived prominence we’ve been watching on the southwest horizon finally erupted, hurling plasma into space. As seen by the SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO instrument, this coronal mass ejection (CME) soared out from our star in a textbook lightbulb shape. Forecasters’ models suggest a glancing blow to Earth is possible on August 2. At nearly the same time as this eruption, a massive filament in the northeast quadrant also erupted and launched material into space (see below). Early observations suggest this blast was directed too far north to affect Earth, but modeling is still underway. Stay tuned for updates as new data arrives.

• Flare activity remained low over the past 24 hours. The sun produced 11 faint C-class flares. The largest event was a C2.2 flare from active region AR4155 at 11:29 UTC on July 30. The lead flare producer crown is shared between AR4155 in the southwest and AR4149 in the northwest. Both produced three C flares each.
• There are nine sunspot regions currently populating the Earth-facing solar disk. All the labeled active regions have simple alpha or beta magnetic configurations and are either stable or in decay, suggesting a calm day to come. There are two newcomers on the Earth-facing side of our star: AR4165 near the northeast limb (edge) and AR4166 in the northwest.
• Blasts from the sun? A coronal mass ejection (CME) observed at 2:13 UTC on July 30 in the vicinity of AR4155 may provide a glancing blow on August 2.
• Solar wind speeds averaged around 420 km/s (939,513 mph) over the past day, with peaks of 570 km/s (1,275,000 mph) late on July 30. At the time of this writing (11 UTC on July 31) the solar wind speed is 472 km/s (1,056,000 mph). The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength remained at a moderate level. The Bz component, which helps determine how much solar wind can enter Earth’s magnetosphere, kept moving intermittently between north and south. It is northward at the time of this writing. A southward Bz is favorable for auroras.
• Earth’s magnetic field was quiet to unsettled (Kp = 1-3) in the past day. It is at Kp = 2 at the time of this writing.

Sun news July 30: Eruptions in the west

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

As in the previous 24 hours, the sun produced only minor flares – but a high number of flares – over the past day. We saw 18 C (common) flares in all. Meanwhile, in the west – the side of the sun that’s rotating out of view – prominence activity has picked up. Here at Earth, conditions remain relatively quiet, but there’s a growing chance of geomagnetic activity. Read more below.

• Flare activity has been low again over the past 24 hours, with only C class faint flares. But, once again – replicating the previous day’s dramatic increase in flare production – the sun produced 18 C flares. The largest event was a C4.7 flare from active region AR4155 at 6:16 UTC on July 30. The lead flare producer was a newcomer as-yet-unnumbered region in the northwest. It produced 11 C flares.
• There are seven sunspot regions on the Earth-facing solar disk. AR4153 remains the largest in extent, but it didn’t produce any flares over the past day. AR4155 showed some growth. All the labeled active regions on the solar disk have a simple alpha or beta magnetic configuration, suggesting a calm day to come today.
• Blasts from the sun? No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed in the available coronagraph imagery.
• Solar wind averaged around 380 km/s (850,036 mph) with a peak at 600 km/s (1,342,000) at 7:28 UTC on July 30, ending the period at 370 km/s (827,660 mph). The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength stayed at a moderate level. The Bz component, which helps determine how much solar wind can enter Earth’s magnetosphere, remained north-oriented late in the period, but moved to south-oriented at around 3 UTC on July 30 up to the time of this writing (11 UTC on July 30).
• Earth’s magnetic field was quiet to unsettled (Kp = 1-3) in the past day.

Sun news July 29: Flare count surges, solar wind on the way

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

The number of sun flares surged dramatically over the past 24 hours, while the strength of the flares remained low. The sun produced 18 C-class (common) flares, a sharp increase from just four flares the previous day. This uptick suggests increased magnetic instability, even if no M-class (moderate) flares have occurred … yet. At the same time, a high-speed stream (HSS) from a northern coronal hole is forecast to become geoeffective (capable of affecting Earth) late today into July 30. It might get a boost from a smaller coronal hole, now rotating onto the Earth-facing side of the sun.

• Flare activity remained low over the past 24 hours, in terms of flare strength, but we saw a dramatic increase in flare production. Over the past day, the sun produced 18 C-class flares in contrast to the four the previous 24 hours. The largest was a C3.1 flare from active region AR4155 at 5:11 UTC on July 29. AR4155 was the lead flare producer of the period with five C flares.
• There are now 10 sunspot regions on the Earth-facing side of the sun. AR4153 is the largest in extent and was the 2nd lead flare producer of the past day, with four C flares. All the labeled active regions on the solar disk have simple alpha or beta configurations. There are two newcomers, AR4162 and AR4163 in the northwest quadrant.
• Blasts from the sun? No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed in the available coronagraph imagery.
• Solar wind averaged around 360 km/s (805,297 mph), ending the period at 381 km/s (852,273). The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength stayed low. The Bz component, which helps determine how much solar wind can enter Earth’s magnetosphere, remained predominantly south oriented. These are typical quiet solar wind conditions.
• Earth’s magnetic field has been quiet to unsettled (Kp = 1-3). The Kp index is 2 at the time of this writing.

Sun news July 28: All quiet, but solar wind might pick up

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

Our sun has been tranquil over the past 24 hours, with only a few C-class (common) flares popping off from its surface. The most significant of these was a C3.1 flare. Although no coronal mass ejection (CME) was detected, solar wind from a new coronal hole could stir up some geomagnetic activity in the next two to three days, brightening night skies at northerly latitudes with a dazzling display of auroras.

• Flare activity is low. We saw four C-class flares over the past day. The strongest was a C3.1 flare from Active Region 4161 at 18:32 UTC on July 27.
• There are currently ten sunspot regions on the Earth-facing disk. The most significant regions are AR4153 and AR4155. Active Region 4155 showed some redistribution of its leader spots, hinting at potential future activity.
• Blasts from the sun? While we’ve had flares, no significant Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed in the past day. This means we’re unlikely to see any major space weather storms from these events.
• Solar wind conditions decreased, ending the period around 412 km/s (921,618 mph). The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength reached a moderate level before returning to a low level. The Bz component, which helps determine how much solar wind can enter Earth’s magnetosphere, remained predominantly positive. These are typical quiet solar wind conditions.
• Earth’s magnetic field has been quiet (Kp = 1-2). This calmness, however, may be the calm before the storm, as the incoming solar wind could stir up some geomagnetic activity.

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Bottom line: Sun news August 3, 2025. Flare activity has surged with 28 C-class flares. Earth’s magnetic field may get a jolt from another coronal hole stream tomorrow.