Sun news: M1.2 flare breaks the quiet spell

Sun news June 2: M1.2 flare breaks the quiet spell

Today’s top story: After an unusual 21 hours without a single flare, the sun blasted out a powerful M1.2 flare at 4:45 UTC this morning. The flare came from an as-yet-unnumbered sunspot region that’s just started rotating into view over the southeast horizon. Quite the introduction! Let’s see what else this region has in store.

Past 24 hours of sun news

(11 UTC June 1 – 11 UTC June 2)

Flare activity

Over the past day, solar activity jumped to moderate levels with an isolated M-class (moderate) flare. In total, the sun fired 6 flares: 1 M-class and 5 C-class (common).

• Strongest flare: M1.2 from a newcomer on the southeast horizon at 4:45 UTC on June 2. The event triggered an R1 (minor) radio blackout over Taiwan.
• Lead flare producer: AR4455 topped the list with 3 C-class flares. Meanwhile, the southeast newcomer contributed 2 flares: a C-class event and the M1.2.

Sunspot regions

The Earth-facing solar disk continued showing 8 numbered active regions. Two newcomers received official numbers during the period: AR4458 in the southeast and AR4459 in the northeast near the limb (edge). All numbered sunspot regions on the disk carry simpler alpha or beta configurations. As a result, the risk of strong flares stays low from the currently numbered regions.

Blasts from the sun?

Available coronagraph imagery showed no Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) during the period.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind

Solar wind speeds dropped from moderate to moderate-low levels during the period. That signals the waning influence of fast solar wind from a coronal hole. Meanwhile, the total interplanetary magnetic field stayed relatively weak.

Bz and magnetic coupling

The Bz component pointed southward during most of this period. A sustained southward Bz favors auroral displays.

Earth’s magnetic field

Over the past day, geomagnetic conditions ranged from quiet to unsettled. Kp reached just above level 3. The coronal hole stream drove the increase. But conditions started to wane. Currently, the Kp index sits just below level 2.

What’s ahead? Sun–Earth forecast

Flare activity forecast

Forecasters expect low levels of solar activity with slight chances for moderate levels through June 3. Chances for M-class flares hold at 25%. The primary sources are AR4446, AR4455 and now the southeast newcomer.

X-class (strong) flare chances remain low at 5%.

Geomagnetic activity forecast

• June 2: Expect mostly quiet conditions (Kp 1–2) with isolated unsettled periods as the coronal hole effects continue to wane. Solar wind should return toward background levels by day’s end.
• June 3: Unsettled-to-active levels (Kp 3–4) may develop. Weak, glancing CME influences from the May 30 eruption could drive the increase, along with a positive-polarity coronal hole. A chance for G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm periods exists.
• June 4: Enhanced conditions may persist as the positive-polarity coronal hole high-speed stream becomes more established. Unsettled-to-active conditions remain possible.

Sun news June 1: Quiet sun as coronal hole winds ease

Over the past earthly day, the sun took a breather. Flare production stayed at low levels. Only C-class (common) flares peppered the visible disk. The strongest event was a modest C1.9 from near the sun’s northeast limb late on May 31. At the same time, Earth stayed under the waning influence of a coronal hole high-speed stream. Solar wind speeds held slightly elevated in the 450–550 km/s range. Geomagnetic conditions were mostly quiet to unsettled.

Looking ahead, unsettled-to-active conditions might return to Earth’s magnetic field today, as residual coronal hole effects linger. A new coronal hole now crossing the sun’s central meridian might drive enhanced activity by June 3. It might bring a chance for G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm conditions. But limited hours of darkness in the Northern Hemisphere will make aurora sightings challenging for most northern observers. Southern Hemisphere watchers at high latitudes have the better shot!

Past 24 hours of sun news

(11 UTC May 31 – 11 UTC June 1)

Flare activity

Over the past day, solar activity held at low levels. In total, the sun fired 8 C-class flares and 1 high B-class (weak) event. No M-class (moderate) or X-class (strong) flares occurred.

• Strongest flare: C1.9 from near the sun’s east limb at 21:42 UTC on May 31. As a C-class event, it produced no radio blackout.
• Lead flare producer: AR4446 topped the list. It fired 5 events: C1.8, C1.5, C1.2, C1.0, and B9.5. Meanwhile, AR4449 contributed 2 C-class flares. And AR4447 fired the period’s broadest event, a C3.1 at 2:09 UTC on May 31.

Sunspot regions: key players

The Earth-facing solar disk showed 8 numbered active regions. Several continued to decay. The overall magnetic complexity was low. No delta configurations are present at the time of this writing (11 UTC on June 1).

Blasts from the sun?

Two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) left the sun’s southwest limb in the past day. But both were assessed as non-Earth-directed. One originated from the sun’s far side. The other came from a region already too far west to threaten Earth.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind

Solar wind speeds reflected the ongoing influence of the negative-polarity coronal hole high-speed stream. Speeds oscillated between roughly 450 km/s and 550 km/s. Meanwhile, the total interplanetary magnetic field was relatively weak, ranging from 3–7 nT after declining from earlier elevated values near 11 nT.

Bz and magnetic coupling

The Bz component started the period with brief southward dips reaching -5 nT. But it then settled to near-neutral or northward for most of the remainder. That configuration limited geomagnetic coupling. As a result, auroral activity stayed subdued over the past day.

Earth’s magnetic field

Geomagnetic conditions started at unsettled-to-active levels in the past day. Kp reached 3 to 4+ between 18:00 UTC on May 30 and 3:00 UTC on May 31. The onset of the coronal hole stream drove the increase. But conditions then settled to mostly quiet levels (Kp 1–2) for the rest of the period. No G1 or higher geomagnetic storm thresholds were reached.

The sun in recent days

Sun images from our community

More sun images from our community

We sometimes feature sun images obtained using hydrogen-alpha filters. Read why.

Bottom line: Sun news for June 2, 2026: An M1.2 (moderate) flare breaks the quiet spell! After 21 hours without a single flare, a new region in the southeast delivered.

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