Earth-facing filament eruption produces M1.7 solar flare and strong CME
An Earth-facing filament near Active Region 3283 erupted at 18:12 UTC on April 21, 2023, producing an M1.7 solar flare and a strong coronal mass ejection (CME).
A Type II Radio Emission with an estimated velocity of 580 km/s was registered at 17:56 UTC, suggesting a CME is associated with a flare event.
In addition, a Type IV Radio Emission was detected at 17:59 UTC. Type IV emissions occur in association with major eruptions on the sun and are typically associated with strong CMEs and solar radiation storms.
The impact is expected within 48 to 72 hours.
Other than this, solar activity was at low levels over the past 24 hours and is expected to remain low through April 23, with a 35% chance for M-class and 1% for X-class flares.
There was little indication in solar wind data from the DSCOVR and ACE satellites that the partial halo CME produced on April 16 had arrived. This CME, which is traveling much slower than the background solar wind, is now forecast to arrive sometime today or early tomorrow.
A negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) is expected to rotate into a geoeffective position late on Aprile 22 with effects lasting through April 23.
G1 – Minor storm levels anticipated from the aforementioned partial halo CME now appear increasingly unlikely. With the anticipated arrival of a fast wind associated with a coronal hole, there is a chance (35%) of active conditions and a slight chance (15%) of minor storm conditions.
Update
April 22, 20:27 UTC
SOHO LASCO imagery shows a full-halo CME signature beginning after 18:12 UTC on April 21. Initial model runs indicated a CME arrival either late on April 23 or early April 24.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels until the arrival of the CME. G1 – Minor storm levels are likely with the onset of CME activity followed by G1 – Minor to G2 -Moderate geomagnetic storm conditions on April 24 with the CME passage.
Visit our upgraded space weather application at watchers.news/swx and follow our flare alert bot on Twitter — click Notify button to receive C0+ solar flare alerts and SWPC’s Alerts, Watches and Warnings.
Featured image: Filament eruption on April 21, 2023. Credit: NASA SDO/AIA 304, HelioViewer, The Watchers
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 and sending us a one-off payment using PayPal.
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.