Real Time Images of the Sun
SOHO EIT 304
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SOHO EIT 284 Animated
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LASCO/C2
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The sun is constantly monitored for sun spots and coronal mass ejections. EIT (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) images the solar atmosphere at several wavelengths, and therefore, shows solar material at different temperatures. In the images taken at 304 Angstrom the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 degrees Kelvin. In those taken at 171 Angstrom, at 1 million degrees. 195 Angstrom images correspond to about 1.5 million Kelvin, 284 Angstrom to 2 million degrees. The hotter the temperature, the higher you look in the solar atmosphere.
Solar flare activity has been at low levels with six C-Class flares throughout the period. The largest flare was a C4.9 at 20/1501 from the primary flare producer Region 3996 (S16W03, Fko/beta-gamma). The region has grown in length and continues to see minor flux emergence within the intermediate area. Slight growth was observed in the intermediate area of Region 3998 (S14E12, Dai/beta). Most other regions have been stable or in decay. A new region is beginning to emerge in the NE quadrant and will be numbered as spot reports become available. The CME associated with the C8.1 at 19/2345 UTC and Type II radio sweep (553 km/s) left the disk around 20/0000 UTC. The CME was modelled and was determined to be mostly a miss with a with a very slight chance for a weak glancing blow on 24 Feb. Another sizeable CME was observed in LASCO C2 imagery around 20/1124 UTC off the E/SE part of the disk; the event is likely associated with a filament eruption near S10E58 and is not expected to have a geoeffective component. At around the same time a small, thin CME lifted off the S/SW that was associated with a long duration C3.8 at 20/1058 from Region 3996. Awaiting model analysis results as of 20/2200 UTC but based on its speed of around 300 km/s and how far south it was deflected, arrival is unlikely to cause impacts.
Solar Activity Forecast
Issued: 2025 Feb 21 1230 UTC
Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for isolated M-class (R1-R2, Minor-Moderate) activity and a slight chance for X-class (R3, Strong) activity through 23 Feb. Energetic
Real Time Solar X-ray and Solar Wind
Solar Cycle Progression
Solar Cycle chart updated using the latest ISES predictions. |
Real-Time Solar Wind
Real-Time Solar Wind data broadcast from NASA's ACE satellite. |
The Solar Cycle is observed by counting the frequency and placement of sunspots visible on the Sun. Solar minimum occurred in December, 2008. Solar maximum is expected to occur in May, 2013.
Solar X-ray Flux This plot shows 3-days of 5-minute solar x-ray flux values measured on the SWPC primary and secondary GOES satellites. |
Satellite Environment Plot The Satellite Environment Plot combines satellite and ground-based data to provide an overview of the current geosynchronous satellite environment. |
Auroral Activity Extrapolated from NOAA POES
Northern Hemi Auroral Map
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Southern Hemi Auroral Map
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Instruments on board the NOAA Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) continually monitor the power flux carried by the protons and electrons that produce aurora in the atmosphere. SWPC has developed a technique that uses the power flux observations obtained during a single pass of the satellite over a polar region (which takes about 25 minutes) to estimate the total power deposited in an entire polar region by these auroral particles. The power input estimate is converted to an auroral activity index that ranges from 1 to 10.
Credits:
Space Weather Images and Information (excluded from copyright) courtesy of: NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center, Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (HAO/NCAR), and SOHO (ESA & NASA).Space Weather links:
3-Day Forecast of Solar and Geophysical Activity
Space Weather Now
Real-Time Solar Wind
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
The Very Latest SOHO Images
