Sun

Sun news September 18: Moon eclipse from Earth, and sun eclipse from space

Posted by
C. Alex Young
and
Raúl Cortés
and
Armando Caussade
and
September 18, 2024
Sun news September 18, 2024. This sequence of images are from GOES-16 SUVI 195, 304, 171, 284 and 094 angstrom when the Earth passed between the sun and the imagery equipment aboard the spacecraft. Image via NOAA.

Sun news September 18: Moon eclipse from Earth, and sun eclipse from space

Today’s top story: We hope you caught last night’s lunar eclipse! It was a a little one, but extremely beautiful. If you didn’t catch it, check out the replay of EarthSky’s eclipse-watch party. And here’s something cool. As we saw the partial lunar eclipse from Earth yesterday, NASA’s SOHO spacecraft also observed an eclipse … of the sun! What happened? The sequence of images above are from GOES-16 SUVI 195, 304, 171, 284 and 094 angstrom, when the Earth passed between the sun and the imagery equipment aboard the spacecraft. Meanwhile, here on Earth, after the storm, a calm. We had severe G4  geomagnetic storming a day ago. But now it has started to wane, leaving behind some gorgeous auroral displays in the moonlight.
Last 24 hours: We had only six C flares over the past day. So sun activity is low. During the past day (11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today), the largest flare was a C4.1 from active region AR3828 in the sun’s southeast quadrant. It happened at 3:44 UTC today (September 18). Lead flare producer of the period was AR3828, which produced three C flares in the past 24 hours. Today, the sun has five numbered active regions on its Earth-facing side.
Next 24 hours: The chance for C flares is 99%. The chance for M flares is 55%. The chance for X flares is 20%.
Next expected CME: No new Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed in available coronagraph imagery.
Current geomagnetic activity: Earth’s magnetic field is quiet at the time of this writing (11 UTC on September 18). Late yesterday and early today, we saw unsettled-to-active levels as yesterday’s severe  G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm started to wane and the coronal mass ejection from September 13 and 14 passed. Quiet-to-unsettled conditions are expected for the rest of the day extended thru tomorrow September 19.

September 17, 2024 Sun activity keeps at low level with only faint, few C flares but the east horizon gives a hint of more action coming our way from the far side. Look at this beautiful prominence. GOES-16 SUVI 304 angstrom. Image via NOAA.

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 September 18, 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 September 17, 2024. Severe geomagnetic storming – caused by blasts from the sun – was registered during the early hours of September 17. We expected a G3 (strong) storm, but it was stronger … a G4 (severe). EarthSky’s own Kelly Kizer Whitt took this photo in Wisconsin last night. Thanks, Kelly!

Sun news September 17: Big geomagnetic storm brought auroras last night!

We were expecting a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm last night, but Earth’s magnetic field experienced an even stronger G4 (severe) storm. This was the result of the arrival of great blobs of sun-stuff – coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – fired toward Earth on September 13 and 14, combined with high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole. And this magnetic disturbance meant auroras! Despite last night’s bright almost-full moon, EarthSky team members saw beautiful auroras in Wisconsin and Wyoming, while others have reported displays as far south as northern Texas. Did you see the auroras? Share your photos with us!
Last 24 hours: In contrast to the auroral excitement at Earth, during the past day the sun came to a lull with low flaring. We saw only three C flares between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today. The largest, a C9.6 from AR3825 at 23:57 UTC on September 16, was just shy of the M flare threshold. While the Earth-facing side of the sun is going through a lull, it seems there is action on the sun’s far side. The SOHO spacecraft observed a bright, long-lasting coronal mass ejection (CME) at around 21:20 UTC on September 16, and the lack of an associated flare on our side of the sun means it could have been a big back side explosion. The sun currently has seven sunspot regions, including newcomers AR3827 and AR3828. AR3824 and AR3825 are showing decent potential with beta-gamma magnetic configurations.

September 17, 2024. The estimated Planetary K Index jumped up to a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm level during the night of September 17. Conditions for auroral displays continued all night long. Image via NOAA.
September 17, 2024. The SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO C3 instrument registered this bright long-lasting coronal mass ejection (CME). No visible flare associated with this event means it was likely caused by activity on the far side of our star. Image via NOAA.

Sun news September 16: Flowing filaments on sun, auroras at Earth

After some impressive solar activity late last week and into Saturday, our star returned to low activity over the past 24 hours. The calmer sun produced nine C flares. Even though the sunspots are quiet at the moment, in contrast to recent days, the filaments are not saying still. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured a filament flickering and twisting as if about to erupt. It sits next to the once powerful X-flare-producing region AR3825. Meanwhile, here at Earth, the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from September 13 and 14 should be arriving soon. Combined with high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole these could produce up to a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm. This could mean auroras into the northern U.S. states. Now the bad news. Most of the activity is predicted to occur during daylight hours for North America. But perhaps the other side of our world will get a show. Also, will the light of the nearly full moon make aurora observing more difficult? Good luck, aurora watchers. And don’t forget, tomorrow night we have the barest sort of partial lunar eclipse.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low. During our observation period (11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today) the sun produced eight C flares, three from region AR3824, three from AR3825, and two from an unnumbered region in the southeast. The sun has five sunspot regions. AR3834 and AR3825 are beta-gamma magnetic regions and the other three are beta regions.

Sun news on September 15-16, 2024. A nice filament near AR3824 is flickering and twisting, captured with SDO’s 304 and 171 angstrom wavelengths. Images via SDO and JHelioviewer

Sun news September 15: Strong X flare and fast eruption!

Today’s top story: An X4.5 flare erupted late yesterday (around 15:29 UTC on September 14) from the new kid on the block, sunspot region AR3825. This region has just rotated onto the Earth-facing solar disk. The event released a fast CME, a burp of sun-stuff that – combined with an earlier M1 flare from over the sun’s southeat limb – should reach Earth on September 16. In other words, yesterday’s fast CME will overtake the slower one, becoming what’s called a cannibal CME. Meanwhile, on Earth, we’ve had half a week or so of geomagnetic storming. And the arrival of the September 13 and September 14 CMEs are likely to increase conditions to G3 (strong) storm levels. Combined CME/coronal hole effects should persist into September 17, giving us G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm conditions (probably). Stay tuned for more.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is high, thanks to the X4.5 flare – the day’s largest flare – at 15:29 UTC on September 14 from sunspot region AR3825. It caused an R3 (strong) radio blackout affecting an area over Eastern South America. Otherwise, we saw only C flares during our observation period (11 UTC yesterday to 11 UTC today). The X flare made AR3825 lead flare producer; it had six flares in all, the X and five C flares. Two large coronal holes are now in a geoeffective position. Earth should start receiving fast solar wind beginning tomorrow, September 15. Bring it on, auroras!
Next 24 hours: The chance for C flares is 99%. The chance for M flares is 60%. The chance for X flares is 15%.
Next expected CME: A coronal mass ejection (CME) from an M1 flare just around the east limb and one associated with the X4.5 flare left the sun around 4:31 and 15:19 UTC respectively on September 14. Analysis of these CMEs indicates an Earth-directed component is likely for both. The first CME will likely be overcome by the second, larger CME (called a cannibal CME) as they make their way to Earth. The anticipated arrival time looks to be around midday on September 16.
Current geomagnetic activity: At the time of this writing (11 UTC on September 15), Earth’s magnetic field is active. Unsettled-to-active levels are expected for the rest of today due to lingering influence from the September 11 CME. By midday tomorrow (September 16), influences from high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole, combined with the arrival of the September 13 and September 14 CMEs, are likely to increase conditions to G3 (strong) storm levels. Combined CME/coronal hole effects should persist into September 17, with G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm conditions likely.

Sun news for September 14-15, 2024. Sunspot region AR3825 produced an X4.5 flare, shortly after fully rotating onto the Earth-facing side of the sun. The eruption peaked at 15:29 UTC on September 14, 2024. It launched a fast coronal mass ejection (CME) to the southeast, a component of which is expected to reach Earth on September 16. Images via JHelioviewer and SDO.

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 1 UTC on September 16, 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?

The sun in recent days

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 1 UTC on September 17, 2024. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky.
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 1 UTC on September 16, 2024. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky.
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 1 UTC on September 15, 2024. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky.
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 3 UTC on September 14, 2024. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky.

Sun images from our community

The sun, seen as a large white sphere with small dark spots.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Patricio León in Santiago, Chile, captured this filtered image of the sun on September 17, 2024. Patricio wrote: “Nice big dark cores but little activity in the solar face. The southern belt maintains its predominance in number of sunspots.” Thank you, Patricio!
The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with a mottled surface.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jim Militello in Tucson, Arizona, captured this filtered image of the sun on September 17, 2024. Jim wrote: “This hydrogen-alpha image of the sun is showing sunspots, active regions, filaments, and prominences.” Thank you, Jim!
The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with a mottled surface.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, captured this filtered image on September 11, 2024. Mario wrote: “Hydrogen-alpha image of the sun showing some beautiful prominences.” Thank you, Mario!
The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with small dark spots.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Hawkes in Sheffield, United Kingdom, captured this filtered image of the sun on September 11, 2024. David wrote: “Finally managed to get some solar snapping done in between extended bouts of cloud/rain(!) – AR3822/AR3814 dominate the centre of the sun’s disk at present with a bunch of other sunspots in the south (where else?) heading for the exit. Not much following on the eastern side right now although some faculae in the east are hinting at some sneaky sunspot activity to come! BTW it rained about 10 minutes after putting my gear away.” Thank you, David!

Are you a fan of sun images? We invite you all to send us your beautiful recent photos of sunspots and auroras. We love receiving them and sharing them! And to those of you who’ve already posted a photo to our community page, thank you.

Submit photos here

View community photos here

Bottom line: Sun news for September 18, 2024. After a severe geomagnetic storm, a calm sun, a lunar partial eclipse at Earth and solar eclipse in space.

Posted 
September 18, 2024
 in 
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 known primarily as an astronomy educator, after 30+ years of extensive public outreach and 10 years teaching in colleges. As one of only a handful of science communicators in Puerto Rico during Comet Halley's last visit, he assumed a pioneering role starting in 1985 when science was just beginning to enter the collective mindset. Over the years, his work as a teacher, speaker and writer, inspired people to pursue interests in science and brought enduring change to Puerto Rican culture. After being accepted into the 2014–2015 Antarctic season of PolarTREC, Armando was assigned to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where in 2015 he successfully conducted 10 days of work at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. His affiliations include Ana G. Méndez University, Cupey campus (2014 to 2021), the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla campus (2015 to 2017), NASA JPL's Solar System Ambassadors (2004 to 2006), and NASA Space Grant (2017 to 2019) where he served as an affiliate representative.

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