Strong solar flare erupts from the SE limb, signaling increased solar activity in the days ahead

A moderately strong solar flare registered as M3.5 erupted from the southeast limb of the Sun at 16:35 UTC on March 16, 2024. The event started at 16:22 and ended at 16:44 UTC. This flare was partially eclipsed by the edge of the Sun, which means it was much stronger than M3.5.

While there is no threat to Earth from this solar flare, the region is turning into view and will likely be the source of many flares in the coming days.

Radio frequencies were forecast to be most degraded over the Caribbean, Central America, and South America at the time of the flare.

“The flare was partially eclipsed by the edge of the sun,” Dr. Tony Phillips of the SpaceWeather said. “That means it was stronger than it appeared, potentially even an X-class. The underlying sunspot could rotate onto the Earthside of the sun before the weekend is done.”

Other activity over the past 24 hours included a filament eruption just north of the center disk beginning at around 05:00 UTC today. A weak impact impact is possible.

Solar radiation storm produced by a long-duration C-class solar flare on March 15 is now subsiding and has dropped below the S1 threshold.

Featured image credit: NASA SDO AIA 131, Helioviewer, The Watchers