Sun news: Coronal hole’s fast winds could disturb the peace

Sun news May 25: Coronal hole’s fast winds could disturb the peace

Today’s top story: After an impressive burst of 18 flares in the previous day, the sun has calmed over the past 24 hours. We observed just 6 C-flares (common), while solar wind speeds remained sluggish. But change is on the way. A stream of high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole should arrive late on May 26 into May 27, potentially unsettling our magnetic field to G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm levels. Stay tuned!

Past 24 hours of sun news

(11 UTC May 24 – 11 UTC May 25)

Flare activity

Over the past day, solar activity held at low to moderate levels. In total, the sun fired 6 C-class flares.

• Strongest flare: C3.7 from AR4447 at 0:51 UTC on May 25.
• Lead flare producer: AR4447 topped the list. It fired 4 of the 6 flares, including the C3.7 peak event. Meanwhile, AR4441 contributed the remaining 2 C-class flares.

Sunspot regions

The Earth-facing solar disk currently shows 9 numbered active regions.

Blasts from the sun?

No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) appeared during the period.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind

Solar wind conditions stayed slow and near background levels throughout the period. Meanwhile, the total interplanetary magnetic field was weak.

Bz and magnetic coupling

The Bz component fluctuated mildly north and south. No sustained southward intervals developed. As a result, conditions were unfavorable for auroras.

Earth’s magnetic field

Over the past day, Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet (Kp 0–2). No geomagnetic storm conditions occurred.

What’s ahead? Sun–Earth forecast

Flare activity forecast

Forecasters expect low levels to continue through May 27. A chance (35%) exists for isolated M-class (moderate) flares. AR4441 and AR4446 are the primary sources of interest. AR4446 continues rotating into a more geoeffective position. It may reveal additional magnetic complexity.

And far-side regions rotating onto the east limb add further uncertainty. X-class (strong) flares remain unlikely (5%).

Geomagnetic activity forecast

• May 25: Expect mostly quiet conditions as the near-background solar wind persists (Kp 1–2). No CME arrivals anticipated. Auroras stay limited to the auroral zone: Alaska, northern Canada, Iceland and northern Scandinavia.
• May 26: Quiet conditions should continue through the first half of the day. But late on May 26, the anticipated negative-polarity coronal hole high-speed stream may begin arriving. Unsettled conditions (Kp 3–4) could develop toward day’s end.
• May 27–28: The coronal hole stream should become the dominant driver. Solar wind speeds could reach up to 500 km/s. Unsettled-to-active conditions are likely. A slight chance of isolated G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm intervals exists. If G1 conditions develop, auroras could reach Seattle, Minneapolis, Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands.

Sun news May 24: New region arrives, fires 16 flares!

Newcomer AR4446 announced its arrival on the sun’s east limb with a bang. This freshly numbered region fired off 16 C-class flares in just 24 hours! The strongest was a C5.6 at 21:57 UTC on May 23. None of these flares triggered radio blackouts. But the sheer volume of activity hints at a complex region still partially hidden behind the solar limb. And, veteran AR4441 made some noise too. Now approaching the west limb, it launched a long-duration C2.8 flare at 19:54 UTC on May 23. That blast produced a Type II radio burst with an estimated shock speed of 932 km/s. That speed signals a coronal mass ejection (CME) was likely produced. But with the source on the western limb, no Earth-directed CMEs were identified. On the space weather front, the solar wind remained sleepy. Speeds averaged near 330 km/s under background conditions. Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet. Looking ahead, the arrival of AR4446 on the visible disk could bring a step-up in activity. Forecasters see a chance for isolated M-class flares over the coming days. Also, active regions behind the east limb fired C-class flares, suggesting more activity may emerge soon. Stay tuned!

Past 24 hours of sun news

(11 UTC May 23 – 11 UTC May 24)

Flare activity

Over the past day, solar activity held at low to moderate levels. In total, the sun fired 18 C-class flares. No M-class or X-class events occurred.

• Strongest flare: C5.6 from AR4446 (S08E89) at 21:57 UTC on May 23. Other notable events included a C4.8 at 23:43 UTC, a C3.7 at 2:33 UTC, and a C3.5 at 0:48 UTC, all from AR4446. In addition, AR4441 fired a long-duration C2.8 at 19:54 UTC on May 23, accompanied by a Type II radio burst (shock speed ~932 km/s).
• Lead flare producer: AR4446 dominated the period. It fired 16 of the 18 flares, including the C5.6 peak event. Meanwhile, AR4441 contributed the remaining 2 flares.

Sunspot regions

The Earth-facing solar disk showed a modest number of active regions. Two stand out.

AR4446 (beta) received its official number this period. It emerged from behind the east limb and immediately became the most active region on the disk with 16 C-class flares. Its position near the limb suggests more complexity may be revealed as it rotates further into view.

AR4441 is nearing the west limb. It continued producing occasional C-class flares, including the long-duration C2.8 event with the Type II radio burst. However, its geoeffective potential is fading as it rotates toward the far side.

Blasts from the sun?

No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) appeared during the period. Several CMEs showed up in coronagraph imagery. But the analysis pointed to source locations on the solar limb or the far side. The Type II radio burst from AR4441’s C2.8 flare (shock speed ~932 km/s) suggests a CME was produced. Even so, with the source at W71 on the western limb, any ejecta would be aimed well away from Earth.

Past 24 hours in space weather

Solar wind

Solar wind conditions reflected a quiet, near-background regime. Speeds averaged roughly 330 km/s with no notable increases. Meanwhile, the total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) held steady near 3 nT, quite weak.

Bz and magnetic coupling

The Bz component fluctuated gently between roughly -4 and +4 nT. No sustained southward orientation developed. As a result, these calm conditions offered no fuel for geomagnetic disturbances or aurora enhancement.

Earth’s magnetic field

Over the past day, Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet (Kp 1–2). No geomagnetic storm conditions occurred. Conditions settled quickly after a brief period of unsettled weather just before our reporting window.

The sun in recent days

Earlier sun images

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 May 25, 2026: The sun is quiet today, but fast solar wind from a coronal hole could bring some excitement to Earth in the coming days.

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