Sun news: More action rolling in from east

Sun news for February 11 – February 12. More action rolling in from east

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

Today’s top story: The prominences we saw and reported on yesterday – on the eastern rim of the sun – continued over the past day. They’re an ongoing sign that more flare action might be moving to the Earth-facing side of our star, from the far side. There must be some active regions producing all this strong east-rim activity. But we can’t quite see them yet. Soon the sun’s rotation will carry them into view. Stay tuned.

Sun-Earth highlights in the past day

• Flare activity dropped to low levels over the past 24 hours with only C (common) flares.
• The flare number for the past day is 10 Cs. The largest flare of the period was a C7.7 peaking at 14:05 UTC on February 11 from departing active region AR3981. AR3981 is now out of view from Earth just behind the northwest solar limb (edge). If the region produces a large blast we should still observe it. We’ll keep watching.
• There are seven active regions visible on the Earth-facing side of the sun. There’s a newcomer on the southeast limb (edge) numbered AR3991.
• Blasts from the sun: A coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed by the SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO C2 imager at 18:12 UTC on February 11. It is associated with a C7.3 flare in the vicinity of AR3991. Further modeling and analysis is ongoing to determine if the plasma from this blast is Earth-directed.
• Solar wind speed remains around 500 km/s (310 miles/s) and the interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) was slightly disturbed. A 3-hour active (Kp = 4) period was observed from 3 – 6 UTC on February 12. The Bz (north/south) component of the interplanetary magnetic field is south directed. The solar wind speed and southward directed magnetic field can help to fuel geomagnetic activity.

 What’s ahead? Sun-Earth forecast

• Moderate solar activity is expected over the next 24 hours. The chance of M flares dropped to 40%. The chance for X flares is at 5% today.
• Blasts from the sun? No significant Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been detected.
• Geomagnetic activity forecast: At the moment of this writing, Earth’s geomagnetic field is at quiet levels. Solar wind enhancements with the addition of a glancing blow from a slow, faint coronal mass ejection (CME) from February 8 is possible today February 12, but confidence in its impact remains low. A G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm (Kp = 5) might be possible late today or early tomorrow (February 13) caused by an additional coronal hole  high-speed solar wind stream.

Sun news for February 10 – February 11. A fiery sunspot region rotates into view

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

Over the past day, we witnessed a fiery sunspot region blasting away on the sun’s northeast limb (edge). The sun’s rotation is just now carrying it into view, and so it hasn’t received a number yet. But it’s in addition to two newcomers mentioned yesterday: AR3989 and AR3990. Over the past day, an isolated M flare kept solar activity at moderate levels. The blast was a farewell flare from active region AR3981, which the sun’s rotation is now carrying to the far side. The new regions – and even departing AR3981 – are expected to keep flare activity moderate, or more than moderate, in the coming day.

Sun-Earth highlights in the past day

• Flare activity has been moderate over the past 24 hours, thanks to an isolated M (moderate) flare.
• The flare number for the past day is one M flare and 12 C flares. The largest flare of the period was an M1.6 peaking at 5:35 UTC on February 11 from departing active region 3981. The blast caused an R1 (minor) radio blackout over the South Indian Ocean northwest of Australia. AR3981 is now located at the sun’s northwesternmost limb (edge). It is returning to our star’s far side.
• There are seven active regions visible on the Earth-facing side of the sun today. AR3989, the largest sunspot cluster, is now evolving. And the incoming active region on the southeast we mentioned yesterday is numbered AR3990 and is our second region of focus.
• Blasts from the sun: Only small coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and plasma from jets were hurled into space over the past day. None are Earth-bound.
• Solar wind remained enhanced with speeds at around 500 km/s (310 miles/s) and the interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) was slightly disturbed. A 3-hour active (Kp = 4) period was observed from 0 –  3 UTC on February 11. At the time of this report the solar wind speed is 556 km/s (346 miles/s). And the Bz (north/south) component of the interplanetary magnetic field is south directed. All of that adds up a potential to fuel geomagnetic activity.

Sun news for February 9 – February 10. Flare boost from sun’s southeast? Solar wind!

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

A new sunspot region – which the sun’s rotation has carried into view in the southeast – might become the next big-flare region. Meanwhile, the northwest sunspot cluster’s flare potential is decreasing as it rotates out of our view. All in all, in the next two to three days, observers expect moderate solar activity, with a continued likelihood of M-class flares. Plus, geomagnetic activity is expected to remain elevated, with G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm conditions likely today (February 10), driven by the ongoing influence of a high-speed solar wind stream from a coronal hole. Read more in the geomagnetic activity forecast below.

Sun-Earth highlights in the past day

• Flare activity increased to moderate levels over the past 24 hours, with an M flare and C flares.
• The flare number is one M flare and seven C flares. The largest flare of the period was an M1.0 peaking at 00:46 UTC on February 9 from Region 3981. This once-dominant region continues to decay as it approaches the western limb (edge). Consequently, its flare potential becomes less.
• There are 10 active regions visible on the Earth-facing side of the sun. But the most notable area of interest at this time remains the northwest quadrant, where the largest and most magnetically complex sunspot cluster continues to evolve. However, recent imagery suggests that a new sunspot region is emerging over the southeastern limb (edge), potentially replacing the northwest as the next area of solar activity focus.
• Blasts from the sun: No significant Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed over the past day. However, a slow, faint CME from February 8 is still being analyzed for any potential glancing impact on Earth.
• Solar wind conditions were initially calm over the past day, but activity increased significantly later in the day due to the arrival of a high-speed solar wind stream from a coronal hole. Accordingly, wind speeds rose from 350 km/s to 500-550 km/s (about 220 to 300-350 miles per second). As well, the interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) increased. The Bz (north/south) component indicating the direction remained northward until approximately 12:57 UTC, when it shifted southward. Because of that, its potential to fuel geomagnetic activity has increased.

Sun news for February 8 – February 9. A solar wind increase in Earth’s vicinity

(11 UTC to 11 UTC)

The large coronal holes we’ve been watching are rotating into a geoeffective position, that is, a position where they are capable of affecting Earth. Therefore, their fast solar wind will begin to reach Earth now, possibly disturbing Earth’s magnetic field. We call this type of solar wind a high-speed stream. These high-speed streams can disturb Earth’s geomagnetic field enough to create geomagnetic storms. The strongest storms come from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) riding on top of this solar wind. The combo increases a geomagnetic storm to the strongest levels.

Sun-Earth highlights in the past day

• Flare activity decreased to low levels with only C flare over the past 24 hours.
• The flare number was 11 (C flares) in the past day. The largest event was a C8.1 from AR3978 peaking at 12:54 UTC on February 8, 2025.
• There are eight active regions on the Earth-facing side of the sun. The northwest quadrant continues to be the most active area, with a cluster of interconnected sunspots showing magnetic complexity and ongoing interaction. While some of the intermediate spots in this cluster are decaying, the rearmost spot remains large and retains a weak delta configuration. Elsewhere on the disk, the remaining sunspots are small and magnetically simple.
• Blasts from the sun: A faint, slow coronal mass ejection (CMEs) was detected in coronagraph imagery at 10:00 UTC on February 8, associated with the M2.0 flare. No significant Earth-directed impact is expected. However, modeling is ongoing.
• Solar wind was slightly enhanced over the past day. The solar wind speed increased slightly to ~360 km/s. A few southward deflections occurred in the interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras). Because of this, some energy transfer into Earth’s magnetosphere occurred.

The sun in recent days

Earlier sun images

Sun images from our community

Are you a fan of sun images? We invite you all to send us your beautiful recent photos of sunspots and auroras. We love receiving them and sharing them! And to those of you who’ve already posted a photo to our community page, thank you.

Submit photos here

View community photos here

Bottom Line: Sun news February 12, 2025. Sun activity has declined, but a new active region on the east limb (edge) and coronal hole near disk center could bring action.