Sun news: Meet growing sunspot region AR3981

Sun news for February 3 – February 4: Meet growing sunspot region AR3981

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

Meet sunspot region AR3981! Activity remains high thanks to this region, which is now the largest and most complex of the eight sunspot groups on our star’s Earth-facing side. AR3981 has produced the most flares, and the biggest flares, over the past two days. As it moves closer to the center of the sun’s Earth-facing disk, its potential to affect Earth via the launch of blobs of solar materials and magnetic fields (aka CMEs) will rise. It hasn’t sent anything our way … yet. AR3981 first appeared on the solar disk on January 30, emerging in the sun’s northeast quadrant. It started with a simple alpha magnetic configuration, but rapidly grew to beta, soon gaining even more complexity. It now has a beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity, signaling the capacity for large M flares and even X flares. Keep an eye on this sunspot region!

 Sun-Earth highlights in the past day

• Flare activity remained high over the past 24 hours. And flare productivity increased slightly, from 23 to 25: seven M (moderate) flares and 18 C (common) flares.
• The largest flare was an M6.1 at 13:18 UTC on February 3 from AR3981. It caused an R2 (moderate) radio blackout over the South Atlantic Ocean.
• Sunspots: There are eight active regions on the sun’s Earth-facing side, with AR3981 the most active.
• Blasts from the sun: No coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have struck Earth in the past day.
• Solar wind: Solar wind from a large coronal hole is beginning to wane from 550 km/s to 450 km/s (340 to 280 miles per second) in the past 24 hours.
• Geomagnetic activity: The interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) was quiet (Kp = 0-1) over the past 24 hours.

 What’s ahead? Sun-Earth forecast

• Moderate to high solar activity is expected over the next 24 hours. The chance of M-class flares is 85%, and the likelihood of X-class flares is 20%.
• Keep an eye on active region AR3981, which is leading flare activity. It is a beta-gamma-delta region, meaning it’s capable of producing more Ms and even X flares. AR3976, AR3977 and AR39874 are also worth watching due to their beta-gamma configurations.
• Blasts from the sun? A coronal mass ejection (CME) from January 31 might deliver a glancing blow to Earth early on February 6 (~07:00 UTC), though confidence remains low.
• Geomagnetic activity forecast: The solar wind is returning to normal. Conditions are expected to remain quiet to unsettled (Kp 1-3) but could briefly increase to active or G1 (minor storm) levels following any CME arrival.

  

  

  Sun news for February 2 – February 3

  (11 UTC to 11 UTC)

  Sun activity has jumped to high after 12 M flares were fired over the past day, all of them from the same sunspot region! The prolific region, AR3981, has developed a high-potential beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity, which is a sign that a region has the capacity for large M flares and even X flares. And, indeed, AR3981 came close to producing an X flare around 4 UTC this morning, blasting out an M8.8 flare (the X flare threshold is crossed at the equivalent of M10). This is definitely the region to watch!

   Sun-Earth highlights in the past day

  • Flare activity increased to high over the past day. Flare productivity increased too, climbing from 12 flares in the previous period to 23 over the past 24 hours: 12 M (moderate) flares and 11 C (common) flares.
  • The biggest flare was an M8.8 at 3:58 UTC on February 3 from AR3981. It caused an R2 (moderate) radio blackout over the northwest coast of Australia.
  • Sunspots: There are eight active regions on the sun’s Earth-facing side, AR3981 being the most active.
  • Blasts from the sun: No coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have struck Earth in the past day.
  • Solar wind: Solar wind speeds reached just below 700 km/s (435 miles per second) in the past day. Earth received the fast solar wind from a large coronal hole we have been observing over recent days, although its effects have started to wane.
  • Geomagnetic activity: The interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) was mostly active (Kp = 4) over the past day.

  

  Sun news for February 1 – February 2 (11 UTC to 11 UTC)

  Solar activity dropped to moderate, with multiple C-class flares and the strongest event an M3.0 flare from Region AR3981. The northeast cluster of sunspots continues to be the primary source of activity, with magnetic interactions increasing flare potential. A high-speed solar wind stream from a coronal hole has arrived, pushing solar wind speeds beyond 600 km/s, contributing to unsettled to active geomagnetic conditions.

  Sun-Earth highlights in past day

  • Flare activity decreased to moderate over the past day. Flare production decreased to 12 flares: two M (moderate) flares and 10 C (common) flares.
  • The biggest flare was an M3.0 at 10:12 UTC on February 2 from AR3981. It caused an R1 (minor) radio blackout over Southern Africa.
  • Sunspots: There are six active regions on the sun’s Earth-facing side, with AR3976, AR3977, and AR3981 the most active.
  • Blasts from the sun: No coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have struck Earth in the past day.
  • Solar wind: Solar wind speeds reached beyond 600 km/s (373 miles per second) in the past day. Earth started to receive the fast solar wind from that large coronal hole we have been observing.
  • Geomagnetic activity: The interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroral displays) was unsettled to active.

  

  For sun activity prior to this date, see our January archive.

  The sun in recent days

  

  

  Sun images from our community

  

  

  

  

  

  

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  Bottom Line: Sun news February 4, 2025. Sunspot region AR3981 keeps solar activity high. It produced the most sun flares, and the biggest ones. And it has the potential for more action!

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