Sun news: Sun-stuff jolts Earth. More tonight?

Sun news July 24: Sun stuff jolts Earth’s magnetic field. More tonight?

Today’s top story: Earth’s magnetic field got a jolt last night. Fast solar wind from a coronal hole, combined with a complex knot of solar winds known as a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), triggered G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm levels. As a result, auroral displays were possible at high latitudes. And we anticipate more disturbance tonight. A couple of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that left the sun on July 20 and 21 should arrive today, delivering glancing blows. So don’t put those cameras away! The auroral show may continue with more G1 storming possible.

Past 24 hours on the sun

(11 UTC July 23 – 11 UTC July 24)

Flare activity: Solar activity continued at low levels over the past day. During the last 24 hours, our sun produced only C-class (common) flares: nine C flares in total.

• Strongest flare: A C2.8 at 15:12 UTC on July 23 from an incoming, as-yet-unnumbered active region in the southeast.
• Lead flare producer:  AR4494 and AR4493 ended tied as top flare producers, sparking 3 C flares each.

Sunspot regions: Five numbered active regions populate the solar disk today as we see it from Earth. Among them, AR4495 received its official label during this period.

• AR4489 (alpha): This region decayed to an alpha configuration. It produced no flares. It’s nearing the southwest solar horizon.
• AR4493 (beta-gamma): This region lost its delta component. Even so, it keeps a beta-gamma configuration. It also remains the largest in extent.
• AR4492 (alpha): This region remains second largest. However, it showed only stable behavior and produced no flares.
• AR4494 (beta-delta): As we reported yesterday, this region developed new sunspots. Now it shows a delta. It also produced three C flares during this period.

Blasts from the sun? Observers spotted no Earth-oriented coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in available coronagraph imagery during our observation period.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind: Solar wind speeds were low early in the period. Then, at 17:00 UTC on July 23, speeds jumped to moderate-high levels. They remained there for the rest of the period. The wind stays under the effects of fast solar wind from a coronal hole, combined with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR).

Bt, Bz and magnetic coupling: The interplanetary magnetic field showed strong levels late on July 23. At 17 UTC, it decreased to weak strength. Meanwhile, the Bz component deflected mostly southward through the first half of this period. At 3 UTC this morning, it moved slightly northward. It then ended the period nearly neutral. A sustained south-oriented Bz component can drive geomagnetic activity.

Earth’s magnetic field: Earth’s magnetic field ranged from quiet to active levels during this period, reaching geomagnetic storm levels. At the moment of this writing, the Kp index sits below level 3.

What’s ahead? Sun–Earth forecast

Flare activity forecast: Forecasters reduced their expectations to low levels, with lower chances of M-class (moderate) flare activity. This reflects AR4493 losing its delta complexity. M-class chances dropped from 55% yesterday to 45% today. The same goes for X-class (strong) flare chances, which fell from 10% yesterday to 5% today.

Geomagnetic activity forecast:

• July 24: Expect unsettled-to-active conditions for the rest of the day. Continued G1 (minor) geomagnetic storms are possible with the arrival of CMEs that left the sun on July 20 and 21.
• July 25: Unsettled-to-active conditions may prevail through the day. The chance of a G1 geomagnetic storm cannot be ruled out.
• July 26: Conditions may gradually ease as the coronal hole stream wanes and CME effects diminish.

Sun news July 23: Flaring drops, but potential remains

After two days of multiple M flares, sun activity has eased back to low levels, with only C-class flares produced over the past 24 hours. Still, sunspot region AR4493 refuses to quiet down completely. This powerhouse fired 10 of the day’s 13 flares, including the strongest, a C5.3. It also continued growing. Indeed, it remains both the largest region and the most magnetically complex on the disk, holding onto its beta-gamma-delta configuration. So the potential for bigger blasts has not gone away. Forecasters still give M flares a 55% chance today, with X flares at 10%.

Past 24 hours on the sun

(11 UTC July 22 – 11 UTC July 23)

Flare activity: Solar activity returned to low levels over the past day. Our sun produced only C-class (common) flares during the last 24 hours: 13 C flares in total.

• Strongest flare: A C5.3 at 3:27 UTC on July 23 from active region AR4493.
• Lead flare producer: Active region AR4493 reached the top once again. This time, it sparked 10 C flares out of the 13 in the period, including the strongest. Meanwhile, AR4494 produced 2 C flares. A new, as-yet-unnumbered incomer in the southeast fired the remaining one.

Sunspot regions: The Earth-viewed side of our sun continues to show four numbered active regions today.

• AR4489 (beta): This region is getting close to the southwestern limb, or edge. It produced no flares during this period.
• AR4493 (beta-gamma-delta): This region continued growing and kept flaring all day. It remains the largest and the most magnetically complex on the solar disk.
• AR4492 (alpha): This active region remained the 2nd largest. However, it produced no flares this time.
• AR4494 (beta): This region developed new sunspots. It also produced a couple of C flares during this period.

Blasts from the sun? A filament eruption in the northwest, near active region AR4493, hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space at 10:45 UTC on July 21. This CME is partially Earth-bound. However, it was a faint event. Therefore, forecasters anticipate no significant effects at arrival.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind: Solar wind continued at moderate to moderate-high levels. It remains under the effects of fast solar wind from a coronal hole, combined with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR).

Bt, Bz and magnetic coupling: The interplanetary magnetic field kept showing moderate strength. Meanwhile, the Bz component showed a southward extension through the first half of this period. Then it moved slightly northward. It ended the period nearly neutral. As always, a sustained south-oriented Bz component can drive geomagnetic activity.

Earth’s magnetic field: Earth’s magnetic field was at quiet to unsettled levels during this period, with Kp values of just 2–3. At the moment of this writing, the Kp index sits below level 3.

Sun news July 22: 23 flares from new powerhouse sunspot region!

Newcomer sunspot region AR4493 continues to be a prolific flare producer. Over the past day, it provided nearly all the flare activity observed from the Earth-viewed solar disk. That included two M flares and 21 C flares, for a total of 23 blasts out of the day’s 24 flares. And this region still has its beta-gamma-delta configuration, the highest possible level of magnetic complexity. That means it surely has more big flaring in store! Stay tuned.

Past 24 hours on the sun

(11 UTC July 21 – 11 UTC July 22)

Flare activity: Solar activity stayed at moderate levels over the past day. During this period, the sun sparked a total of 24 flares: 2 M-class (moderate) flares and 22 C-class (common) events.

• Strongest flare: An M3.6 at 6:35 UTC on July 22 from active region AR4493. An R1 (minor) radio blackout accompanied the M flare, affecting an area over India.
• Other M flares: An M1.7 at 17:27 UTC on July 21 from AR4493. It triggered an R1 (minor) radio blackout over the east coast of México.

Sunspot regions: The Earth-viewed side of our sun shows four numbered active regions today. Among them is a newcomer emerging from the southeast horizon, now numbered AR4494.

• AR4489 (beta): This region kept its beta configuration. It continued showing signs of decay. It produced no flares during this period.
• AR4493 (beta-gamma-delta): This region shows the strongest complexity on the solar disk and ranks largest in extent. It continued growing and kept flaring all day.
• AR4492 (alpha): This active region ranks second largest in extent. However, it decayed to an alpha configuration. It produced no flares.
• AR4491 (alpha): This region decayed entirely to just a bright area. Still, it contributed one C flare this morning before disappearing.

Blasts from the sun? Observers detected no Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in available coronagraph imagery over the past day.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind: Solar wind continued at moderate to moderate-high levels. The arrival of fast solar wind from a coronal hole, combined with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), has been driving this rise.

Bt, Bz and magnetic coupling: The interplanetary magnetic field is showing moderate strength. Meanwhile, the Bz component underwent several extended southward deflections. A sustained south-oriented Bz component can drive geomagnetic activity.

Earth’s magnetic field: Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet to active during this period, with Kp values of just 2–4. At the moment of this writing, the Kp index sits above level 3.

Sun news July 21: New sunspot region arrives with a bang

A lull on the sun has been shattered by a volley of 3 M flares from new sunspot region AR4493. This region emerged from nothing and grew rapidly in the past couple of days, and now displays a beta-gamma-delta configuration, which is the highest possible level of magnetic complexity. That means it could have plenty more big flares in store! Stay tuned.

Past 24 hours on the sun

(11 UTC July 20 – 11 UTC July 21)

Flare activity: Solar activity increased from low to moderate levels over the past day thanks to three M flares. Flare production also registered a notable jump. Yesterday, the sun fired just three C-class (common) flares and one B-class (weak) event. This period, it fired 18 flares: 3 M-class plus another 15 C flares.

• Strongest flare: An M3.4 at 22:25 UTC on July 20 from active region AR4493. An R1 (minor) radio blackout accompanied the M flare, affecting an area over Hawaii.
• Other M flares: An M2.5 at 14:36 UTC on July 20 from AR4493 triggered an R1 (minor) radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean. Later, an M1.1 at 19:20 UTC on July 20, also from AR4493, produced an R1 (minor) radio blackout over Baja California in Mexico.

Sunspot regions: Currently, the sun shows 4 numbered active regions on the side we see from Earth. Among them is a newcomer, now numbered AR4493.

• AR4489 (beta): This region lost its gamma configuration. It also began to show signs of decay. It produced no flares during this period.
• AR4493 (beta-gamma-delta): The unnumbered region in the east we mentioned yesterday emerged from nothing and continued growing. It now shows the strongest complexity there is.
• AR4492 (beta-gamma): This active region underwent notable growth. In addition, it developed a gamma configuration. It produced one C flare.
• AR4491 (alpha): This region showed some decay. Consequently, it reduced from its beta to an alpha configuration today.

Blasts from the sun? The coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produced during the three M flares of this period remain under modeling and analysis. Forecasters are working to determine if any could reach Earth.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind: Solar wind conditions averaged at background levels throughout most of the period. However, at 7:30 UTC this morning, speeds increased to moderate levels. The arrival of fast solar wind from a coronal hole, combined with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), caused this rise.

Bt, Bz and magnetic coupling: The interplanetary magnetic field showed similar behavior. It stayed weak during almost the entire period. Then, at 6:30 UTC this morning, the Bt component started to increase. By the end of the period, it showed strong levels. Meanwhile, the Bz component pointed southward the whole period. A sustained south-oriented Bz component may drive geomagnetic activity. In short, the calm is passing. The coronal hole’s fast wind is arriving.

Earth’s magnetic field: Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet-to-unsettled during this period, with Kp values of just 1–3. No geomagnetic storm conditions occurred. Auroras remained confined to the highest latitudes around the auroral oval. At the moment of this writing, the Kp index sits at level 3.

Sun news July 20: Fast solar wind on its way to Earth

A large coronal hole we saw a couple of weeks ago has passed around the far side of the sun and returned to our star’s Earth-facing side. This “hole” in the sun’s outer atmosphere has just crossed the center of the solar disk. That means the fast solar wind streaming from it is on its way to our planet, and should reach our magnetic field late on July 21. As a result, geomagnetic activity could climb to G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm levels by July 22. Stay tuned!

Past 24 hours on the sun

(11 UTC July 19 – 11 UTC July 20)

Flare activity: Solar activity remained low over the past day. Observers recorded three C-class (common) flares and one B-class (weak) event.

• Strongest flare: A C2.1 from an as-yet unnumbered region at 7:39 UTC on July 20.
• Other flares: A C1.9 occurred at 18:48 UTC on July 19, followed by a C1.3 at 18:25 UTC on July 19. Both came from a region just beyond the southeast limb.
• The three numbered regions on the visible disk stayed largely inactive throughout the period. Instead, action on the horizon accounted for most of the flaring.

Sunspot regions: The Earth-facing solar disk displayed three numbered active regions.

• AR4489 (beta-gamma): The most magnetically complex region on the disk. It sits in the south-central area. During the period, it underwent slight development and an increase in magnetic complexity. Even so, it stayed largely inactive in terms of flare production.
• Meanwhile, forecasters noted a new, unnumbered region in the east. It shows continued growth.
• The remaining numbered regions stayed mostly unchanged and quiet. They contributed no significant flare activity.
• Finally, active regions beyond the southeast limb continued to produce C-class flares. This suggests potentially significant activity may rotate into view in the coming days.

Blasts from the sun? Forecasters cataloged four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) during the period. However, none should impact Earth.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind: Solar wind conditions remained at background levels throughout the period.

Bt, Bz and magnetic coupling: The interplanetary magnetic field stayed weak. The Bz component fluctuated gently between moderately northward and southward, but the southward dips were not sustained enough to drive geomagnetic activity. These are textbook quiet solar wind conditions: the calm before the coronal hole wind arrives.

Earth’s magnetic field: Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet throughout the entire period, with Kp values of just 0–2. No geomagnetic storm conditions occurred. Auroras remained confined to the highest latitudes around the auroral oval. Moreover, the short summer nights in the Northern Hemisphere further limited any visibility.

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Bottom line: Sun news July 24, 2026: A G1 geomagnetic storm lit up high latitudes last night, and more could come tonight as two CMEs arrive. Aurora watchers, keep those cameras out!

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