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Today’s top news: Sun activity is low but the sun doesn’t know that. Over the past several days it has been throwing off a flurry of filaments. Two erupted from the southwest limb (edge) over the last half of March 18, 2023. Both events created coronal mass ejections (CMEs) but given their location neither will have a brush with Earth. We mostly think of solar activity in terms of sunspot regions but we should never count out filament eruptions for some excitement. Filament eruptions are not usually the fastest of the CME events but when you combine a filament erupting over an active region the action is often kicked up a notch. We will see more of these crazy combos of filaments over active regions as we approach solar maximum when the sun builds up more magnetic energy that it needs to shed. Stay tuned!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low. There were 12 C flares. The largest was a C4.5 at 6:41 UTC from AR3256. There are six numbered active regions on the sun.
Next 24 hours: The forecast is for a 95% chance for C flares, a 25% chance for M flares, and a 1% chance for X flares.
Next expected CME: A coronal mass ejected (CME) from a filament eruption around 9:30 UTC on March 17, 2023, is expected to arrive late on March 20, 2023.
Current geomagnetic activity: Unsettled now. Quiet with isolated unsettled periods are expected today. Unsettled to active conditions are likely on March 20-21, 2023, due to high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole and the possible arrival of a CME from March 17, 2023.
For more details, visit our Sun Glossary
Today’s top news: Sun activity has been moderate, but we saw a huge blast from the sun’s far side. It happened late on March 17, 2023, starting at around 22 UTC and lasting several hours. The explosion was close to the sun’s southwest limb (edge). It produced a large, gorgeous prominence. The coronal mass ejection (CME) sent into space during this event is not Earth-directed; it happened on the sun’s far side, after all. Meanwhile, most of the active regions we’ve been seeing in recent days have either decayed or been carried out of view on the sun’s western edge. And now we see only three active regions. Despite all this, NOAA‘s forecasters increased to 95% the chances for a C flare to occur. That might be because of AR3256, possibly the next guy to observe. See below.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is moderate. Surprised? We saw eight flares in the past day, seven Cs, plus an isolated M1.1 flare that was the day’s largest. AR3254 produced the M flare at 15:07 UTC on March 17, 2023. Shortly afterwards, there was an R1 (minor) radio blackout over South America. There are only three numbered active regions on the sun today. But there’s a newcomer on the southeast limb (edge), now numbered AR3256. This active region shows a good-sized extension and a beta magnetic configuration. That means it has a positive and a negative polarity, with a simple division between the polarities.
Next 24 hours: The forecast is for a 95% chance for C flares, a 25% chance for M flares, and a 1% chance for X flares.
Next expected CME: A filament erupted on the southwest solar quadrant. It started around 9:30 UTC on March 17, 2023. There was a CME with this explosion. Modeling and analysis are undergoing to determine if there is any Earth-bound component.
Current geomagnetic activity: Quiet now. Quiet conditions are expected to continue during the rest of the day today and extend into tomorrow, March 19. A large coronal hole emerged on the sun’s southeast quadrant. The high-speed solar wind it produces might be Earth-bound in a few more days, after the sun’s rotation carries it to a geoeffective position.
For more details, visit our Sun Glossary
Today’s top news: Two milestones today, the first involving physical distance and the second a matter of perspective. First, Parker Solar Probe – the first spacecraft to “touch” the sun – has its 15th perihelion, or closest approach to the sun, today. And second, the sun’s innermost planet Mercury is at superior conjunction today, passing most directly behind the sun as seen from our earthly perspective. Parker Solar Probe launched on August 12, 2018. At this March 17, 2023, perihelion, it’s sweeping within 7 million miles (11 million km) of the sun’s surface. That’s much closer the previous current record-holder, Helios 2, which came within 27 million miles (43 million km) of the sun in 1976. And of course it’s in contrast to Earth’s distance from the sun (93 million miles, or 150 million km). Parker Solar Probe is traveling at a speed of 347,675 mph (559,530 kmh). It’s zooming past our blazing star! To complete the show today, Mercury is at its superior conjunction. That means that – from our earthly perspective – Mercury lies right next to the sun in our sky. It’s passing behind the sun (more or less) as seen from Earth. Today, we see Mercury in the field of view of the LASCO C2 imagery of NASA’s SOHO spacecraft.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low, with eight C flares. The largest flare of the past day was a C6.4 flare from an unnumbered region in the sun’s southeast quadrant at 6:26 UTC on March 17, 2023. Just minutes after that flare, a second C6.4 flare exploded so nearby in the sun’s southeast that it might be considered a blast from the same region. The sun continues emitting jets and prominences on its southeast limb (edge). A long-lasting prominence on the sun’s northern pole is ongoing. There are seven numbered active regions on the sun today.
St. Patrick’s Day Perihelion – Parker Solar Probe will get super close to the Sun on March 17 (~94% of the distance to the Sun from Earth!). STEREO-A, Solar Orbiter and Bepi Columbo, Earth and Mercury all lining up for the planetary parade. @ESAScience @NASASun pic.twitter.com/4s1xrHBQOK
— Peter T Gallagher (@petertgallagher) March 14, 2023
Earth’s magnetic field reached G2 (moderate) storm levels late yesterday and early today. Observers at northerly latitudes witnessed auroras across higher latitudes. Meanwhile, the sun itself remained relatively quiet. The effects of the massive coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun’s far side – which created a history-making halo event a few days ago – have now started to wane. The S1 (minor) solar radiation storm created in the halo event – which we saw during the past couple of days – is also subsiding.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low, with just two little C flares. We say “little,” but, according to this page from University College London, the amount of energy that’s released in a typical flare is about the same as 100 megaton bombs exploding all at once! The largest flare of the past day was a C1.3 flare from an unnumbered region on the northwest at 06:43 UTC on March 16, 2023. Jets on the sun’s southeast limb (edge) continued along with a long-lasting prominence on the northern solar pole. Will the region that produced the historic eruption on the other side return soon to the Earth-facing side of the sun? It might. We’ll see. There are eight numbered active regions on the sun today.
Aurora Borealis in Norway ?? pic.twitter.com/H6zrIlQksX
— Marcon Ist (@IstMarcon) March 16, 2023
At the time of this writing (11 UTC on March 15), a G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm is ongoing. Auroral displays are possibly occurring as far south as the northern U.S. states … And more is coming. The G2 threshold (Kp = 6) was reached at 05:59 UTC on March 15, 2023 (last night in the U.S.). Tonight’s forecast anticipates continued geomagnetic storming up to a G2 (moderate). Alert for aurora chasers! Please submit your aurora photos to EarthSky’s community page. Meanwhile, we’re still seeing the effects of the massive coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun’s far side, which created a history-making halo event. An S1 (minor) solar radiation storm of solar energetic particles is ongoing as we write this. We will keep watching. Stay tuned.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low with four C flares. The largest was a C2.9 flare by AR3254 at 11:19 UTC on March 14, 2023. There was a large beautiful jet on the sun’s southeast limb (edge): A sign of more action to come? There are nine numbered active regions on the sun’s Earth-facing side today.
We’re still seeing the effects of the massive coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun’s far side, the side we can’t see from Earth. It happened around 3:30 UTC on March 13, 2023 (overnight on March 12, for the Americas). If this backside eruption had happened on the sun’s Earth-facing side, we could have experienced a solar event as big as – and maybe bigger than – the most infamous solar event in modern history, the Carrington Event of September 1859. A simple explanation of space weather is that CME size and speed play an important role is determining the significance of the impact of an event. There are also other variables, for which we are waiting for data. All of this together will determine if something “could happen.” That gigantic CME was noteworthy in 1859. But, given our modern dependence on technology today, its effect – if it happened today – would have been profound. We’re lucky this week’s event happened on the far side! And – as a more advanced society than that of 1859 – we have a spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe, on the side of the sun where the event occurred. It’ll provide unprecedented data on this history-making sun event. Solar scientists are likely giddy with anticipation, waiting for the data to become available. And, in the meantime, Earth is still experiencing an increase in solar energetic particles, which are creating radio blackouts at Earth’s magnetic poles. It’s very likely the March 12-13 event will end up being the largest coronal mass ejection of Solar Cycle 25. Only one such event is statistically expected per solar cycle.
Last 24 hours: On the Earth-facing side of the sun, activity is low: Only four C flares. The largest flare, a C3.1, was produced at 11:06 UTC on March 13, 2023. It originated from an unnumbered active region on the northeast. There are seven numbered active regions on the Earth-facing side of the sun.
Holy Mackerel!! ??This was a huge and fast event from the other side of the Sun. ?An extremely fast and rare CME, 3000 km/s, 6.7 Mega mph. As fast if not faster than the fastest CME like the famous Carrington Event.Could be the big one for the cycle but we have to wait! ?? pic.twitter.com/RXtnIrPEjV
— Dr. C. Alex Young (@TheSunToday) March 13, 2023
The Earth-facing side of the sun is quiet. Flaring is low. But check this out … A strong halo event on the far side of the sun! That is, a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) was seen earlier today (around 3:30 UTC on March 13, 2023) in the SOHO/LASCO C2 imagery. It appeared to come from all around the edge of the field of view. Solar physicists call it a halo event because, in the imagery, it looks like a ring or halo. Yet there’s no signature of an eruption on the Earth-facing side of the sun. So we know the event must have come from the sun’s far side, and it looks like a doozy. In fact, today we’re hearing the word Carrington mentioned in connection with the strong halo event. Good thing the CME wasn’t pointed our way. This farside eruption did cause an increase in “TV snow” on the LASCO camera. And it caused a marked increase in protons measured on Earth. This means the event on the other side of the sun created a blast strong enough to quickly accelerate the protons. The event releasing the protons is called a solar particle event (SPE). If the level of protons continues to increase, they could reach NOAA’s threshold for a particle storm. We are awaiting more analysis to see if and how much the proton levels rise. Not too boring for low activity! For more info, see the tweet below.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low. In addition to the halo event described above, a filament erupted from the southeast solar disk, sending a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space around 18:15 UTC on March 12, 2023. We’re waiting for further analysis to see if the CME has an Earth-directed component. We also saw three C flares during the past day. The largest flare, C1.6 at 10:40 UTC on March 12, 2023, came from the new region AR3245. There are 10 numbered active regions on the Earth-facing side of the sun.
A preliminary measurement yields over 3000 km/s, making this incredible CME possibly Carrington-event class in strength. The event is on the Sun’s far side and its ejecta is not expected to impact Earth. However, a minor solar radiation storm has been observed at Earth from the… https://t.co/Q7N2wQhfPX
— Space Weather Watch (@spacewxwatch) March 13, 2023
Sun activity is low. But even when solar flaring is low, the sun still has some tricks up its sleeve. For example, another large rope of solar material and magnetic field – aka a filament – erupted from the sun’s southwest around 16 UTC late yesterday (March 11, 2023). Filament eruptions can put on quite a show! And the 304-angstroms wavelength of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured it. Then the LASCO C2 coronagraph of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) picked it up, in the form of its resulting coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME is now under analysis to determine if it has an Earth-directed component. Meanwhile, we await the possible arrival of a March 8 CME sometime today. It could power enhanced auroral displays at higher latitudes. Good luck, aurora-watchers!
Last 24 hours: Sun activity is low with six C flares during the past day. Five came from region AR3245. The largest event, C3.2 at 7:43 UTC on March 12, 2023, came from the new region AR3253. There are 10 numbered active regions on the Earth-facing side of the sun.
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Bottom line: Sun activity for March 19, 2023: The sun threw off two large filament eruptions of the southeast limb (edge). It has been extra busy with it’s filament eruptions over the last several days.
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