X1.1 solar flare erupts from the Sun’s SE limb

A major solar flare measuring X1.1 erupted from a region located at the Sun’s southeastern limb at 13:25 UTC on May 3, 2022. The event started at 13:09 UTC and ended at 13:31.

The location of the responsible region does not favor Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

At the time of press, there were no radio signatures suggesting a CME was produced during the event.

Solar activity reached moderate levels in 24 hours to 12:30 UTC today, with an M1.3 solar flare at 07:53 UTC from an area just beyond the SE limb.¹

This area was also responsible for several C-class flares, the largest being a C2.6 at 01:38 UTC.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux reached high levels with a peak flux of 1 540 pfu observed at 15:50 UTC on May 2. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux remained at background levels.

Solar wind parameters remained weakly enhanced under a near background solar wind regime. Solar wind speeds were steady near 430 km/s, total field averaged around 3 nT, while the Bz component was between +/-3 nT. Phi angle was mostly negative.

The geomagnetic field was quiet and is expected to be mostly quiet through May 5.

References:

¹ Forecast Discussion issued: 2022 May 03 1230 UTC – Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Featured image credit: NOAA/GOES-16