Large prominence eruption and strong C-class solar flare
Strong solar flare erupted on May 9, 2013 at 22:52 with peak at 23:15 UTC as C9.1 flare, just below M-class threshold. The event was centered around old returning Sunspot 1726. It will be on the visible solar disk in the next 24 hours when it will be designated as Active Region 1745.
X-Ray flux plot (Credit: GOES/SWPC)
STEREO imagery (Credit: NASA/STEREO)
SOHO’s LASCO C3 and C2 coronographs (Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO)
Earlier on May 9, 2013, SDO captured a large prominence eruption off the southwest limb. A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is visible in the latest STEREO Ahead COR2 imagery as well in the both SOHO’s LASCO coronographs. This CME is directed away from Earth.
Sunspot 1734 is now located in the southwest quadrant and is crackling with C-class flares. Sunspots 1732, 1734 and 1736 are each rotating towards the southwest limb and will all be out of direct Earth view May 12, 2013. Meanwhile, three new regions rotated into view off the east limb and were numbered 1742, 1743 and 1744. Regions 1740 and 1741 continued to decay and are now spotless plages. Currently, there are 8 numbered active regions on the visible side of the Sun.
Active regions and coronal holes (Credit: SDO/The Watchers)
NOAA/SWPC forecasters estimate 35% chance of M-class events in the next 24 hours. Geomagnetic conditions remain quiet. The solar wind speed remains elevated (around 500 km/s) due to the influence of a coronal hole.
CURRENT CONDITIONS:
Solar wind
speed: 436.2 km/sec
density: 0.5 protons/cm3
The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 127 sfu
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2 quiet
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.8 nT
Bz: 0.0 nT
Featured image: NASA – SOHO LASCO
If you value what we do here, create your ad-free account and support our journalism.
Your support makes a difference
Dear valued reader,
We hope that our website has been a valuable resource for you.
The reality is that it takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to maintain and grow this website. We rely on the support of readers like you to keep providing high-quality content.
If you have found our website to be helpful, please consider making a contribution to help us continue to bring you the information you need. Your support means the world to us and helps us to keep doing what we love.
Support us by choosing your support level – Silver, Gold or Platinum.
Other support options include Patreon pledges, one-off payments using PayPal and purchasing products from our webshop.
Thank you for your consideration. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Teo Blašković
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:
We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.