Sun news for May 4, 2026. This video from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captures a 24-hour time-lapse of the sun from May 3 to May 4. The video blends 3 wavelength channels for a rich, layered view of our star. Video via NASA/ SDO.
Sun news May 4: M1.8 flare ends the quiet spell
Today’s top story: The sun broke out of its activity lull overnight! AR4424 fired an M1.8 flare (moderate) at 1:13 UTC on May 4, ending a several-day run of only C (common) flares. The blast triggered an R1 (minor) radio blackout that briefly disrupted high-frequency communications over the Pacific and eastern Asia.
Past 24 hours of sun news
(11 UTC May 3 – 11 UTC May 4)
Flare activity
Over the past day, solar activity rose to moderate levels thanks to the M1.8 from AR4424. However, overall output was light. In total, the sun fired just 3 flares: 1 M-class and 2 C-class.
Strongest flare: M1.8 from AR4424, peaking at 1:13 UTC on May 4. Given its position near the western limb, any ejecta would have aimed largely away from Earth.
Lead flare producer: AR4424 fired 2 of the 3 flares, including the only M-class event. In addition, AR4430 chipped in a C1.3 at 18:51 UTC on May 3.
Sunspot regions
The Earth-facing solar disk showed 10 numbered active regions. Notably, none carried complex magnetic setups. All ten hold beta or simpler configurations.
Blasts from the sun?
No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) appeared in coronagraph imagery during the period.
The Bz component was weak and variable, bouncing between northward and southward. Those southward dips were not sustained enough to drive significant auroral activity.
Earth’s magnetic field
Over the past day, Earth’s magnetic field ranged from quiet to unsettled (Kp 1–3). Auroras stayed confined to the highest latitudes: Alaska, northern Canada, Iceland and northern Scandinavia.
What’s ahead? Sun–Earth forecast
Flare activity forecast
Forecasters expect low levels to continue through May 6. A chance (40%) exists for M-class flares. AR4424 has been the most active producer, but it is nearing the western limb and will soon rotate out of view.
Meanwhile, AR4429 sits facing Earth near the disk’s center. Any growth or new complexity in that region could boost flare potential. X-class (strong) events are not expected (5%) given the current simple setups across the disk.
Geomagnetic activity forecast
May 4: Expect quiet-to-unsettled conditions (Kp 1–3). A chance of active periods (Kp 4) exists later in the day if the slow, low-confidence CMEs from April 30 deliver a glancing blow. A slight chance of G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm conditions also exists.
May 5: Expect continued quiet-to-unsettled conditions (Kp 1–3). Isolated unsettled-to-active spells are possible if CME effects linger. The coronal hole influence continues to fade. Aurora prospects remain low for mid-latitude observers.
May 6: Expect mostly quiet conditions (Kp 1–2) as solar wind returns toward background levels. However, a small coronal hole may send a fresh pulse of fast wind arriving around May 7. That arrival could bring another round of unsettled-to-active conditions, with a slight chance of G1 (minor) storm levels.
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 5 UTC on May 4, 2026. Original image, without labels, via NASA/ SDO. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky.Why are east and west on the sun reversed?
The sun in recent days
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 6 UTC on May 3, 2026. Image via NASA/ SDO.
Earlier sun images
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 6 UTC on May 2, 2026. Image via NASA/ SDO.
Sun images from our community
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Patricio León in Santiago, Chile, captured this filtered image on May 3, 2026. Patricio wrote: “With the addition of AR4433, far left, the count of major sunspots in the solar face grew to 5 plus a newcomer making entrance at 10 o’clock limb. None of them is impressive to look at, but as well as they keep coming they are welcome, considering that the peak of this solar cycle took place almost 2 years ago (July/August 2024) so we are definitely in its downhill phase.” Thank you, Patricio!
More sun images from our community
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, captured these filtered images on May 3, 2026. Mario wrote: “The sun in hydrogen-alpha, helium D3, iron, G-band, and calcium-H. There’s a nice detached prominence on the northeast limb.” Thank you, Mario!
We sometimes feature sun images obtained using hydrogen-alpha filters. Read why.
Bottom line: Sun news for May 4, 2026: M1.8 (moderate) flare ends the quiet spell! AR4424 fires from the western limb. Slow coronal mass ejections from April 30 may glance Earth today.
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.
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.
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.
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