Solar activity at moderate levels today – two M-class solar flares
In last 24 hours solar activity was at moderate levels due to two M1 flares at 04:53 UTC and 07:49 UTC from Region 1900. No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections were observed.
There are currently 10 numbered sunspot regions on the disk.
Region 1900 currently has 'beta' magnetic configuration and it exhibited umbral separation and slight decay in its trailing spots. Slight growth was observed in the northern area of 'beta-delta" Region 1893. 'Beta-gamma' Region 1899 had slight decay in its smaller trailing spots.
Slight growth was observed in Regions 1897 ('beta-gamma-delta') and 1902 ('beta'). The rest of the spotted regions were either stable or in decay.
Sunspots on November 16, 2013. Image credit: NASA SDO HMI
1890 – Alpha
1893 – Beta-Gamma
1895 – Alpha
1896 – Alpha
1897 – Beta-Gamma-Delta
1898 – Beta
1899 – Beta-Gamma
1900 – Beta-Gamma
1901 – Beta
1902 – Beta
The geomagnetic field was at quiet to active levels in last 24 hours. An isolated active period was observed between 21:00 and 24:00 UTC on November 15 due to a prolonged southward Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to active levels today, and quiet to unsettled levels on November 17 and 18 due to coronal hole high speed stream effects (CH HSS).
Solar wind is expected to be enhanced under the influence of a negative polarity CH HSS through November 16 – 18. Solar wind speeds are expected to increase into the 500 km/s to 600 km/s range.
Solar activity is likely to be moderate (R1-R2, Minor-Moderate) with a slight chance for X-class (R3, Strong) flares for the next 72 hours.
Image credit: NASA SDO AIA 171
Featured image: NASA SDO AIA 171
We can't…we are trying to understand, everyday is an opportunity for mankind to learn more through his journey in this amazing universe.
"Solar activity is generally lower during Mini-Ice-Age's and so the relative changes in activity and more specifically magnetic connectivity are more dramatic and with the generally wild jet stream make these extreme storms and superstorms more frequent world-wide.
it seems that we have the weakest ''solar maximum''ever recorded and we are heading to a new mini ice age…all these spots and still low activity…what bothers me the most is an impulsive reaction of the sun which will reverse its magnetic poles happening exactly at the same time that ison is passing by…a kind of big boom…a regular activity well balanced is better than a highly non balanced reaction…
Interesting comment med tes. It is weakest since we measure them, and many reports now mention mini ice age again. Our Sun is here for billions of years and we observe its activity for just a fraction of that time. How can we fully understand solar cycles, solar activity and its impact on Earth, interaction with comets etc… with just our existing records? How can we draw good conclusions based only on 200 years of observations and who is to say that 24 solar cycles we observed so far are not just a part of some longer solar cycle? See this article also, it gives a good perspective on ice age theory: https://watchers.news/2013/07/15/current-climate-anomaly-ice-age-climate-normal-earth-climate/