Space Weather
Space Weather
Space weather describes changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space. Magnetic fields, radiation, particles and matter, which have been ejected from the Sun, can interact with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and surrounding magnetic field to produce a variety of effects.
Space weather notifications
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Aurora forecasts
Northern Hemisphere
No significant space weather is expected, with aurora sightings unlikely.
Southern Hemisphere
No significant space weather is expected, with aurora sightings unlikely.
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Forecast overview
Space Weather Forecast Headline: A decreasing Slight Chance of G1/Minor geomagnetic storm Days 1-2 (17-18 Dec). Slight Chance of R1/Radio Blackouts.
Analysis of Space Weather Activity over past 24 hours
Solar Activity: Low with occasional low-level Common class flares. There are currently five active regions on the visible disc. The largest group on the disc resides in the southwest, however this region is now mature and stable. The remainder of front-sided spot groups remain small and magnetically simple with only slight growth observed in a couple regions.
No Earth-directed CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections) were observed in available imagery.
Solar Wind / Geomagnetic Activity: The solar wind suggested a connection to coronal hole fast winds. The solar wind speed rose from Elevated to Strong. The interplanetary magnetic field was Moderate initially, then gradually declined to Weak. The north-south component was weakly negative. The net result of the above solar wind measures was for Quiet to Unsettled geomagnetic activity (Kp2-3).
Energetic Particles / Solar Radiation: No solar radiation storms were observed.
Four-Day Space Weather Forecast Summary
Solar Activity: Solar activity is expected to be generally Low, with a Slight Chance of isolated Moderate class activity.
Solar Wind / Geomagnetic Activity: There are currently no Earth-directed coronal mass ejections in the forecast. Earth is currently under the influence of coronal hole fast winds, with speeds peaking at Strong levels. Solar wind speeds should gradually decrease through days 1-2 (17/18 Dec), to become slightly elevated or slow-ambient by day 3 (19 Dec), with no further enhancements currently expected.
Geomagnetic activity is expected to be mostly Quiet to Unsettled (Kp1-3), with a chance of Active (Kp4) intervals and a decreasing Slight Chance of G1/Minor Geomagnetic Storms (Kp5).
Energetic Particles / Solar Radiation: Solar radiation is expected to remain at background levels.
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Solar imagery
SDO AIA-193
This channel highlights the outer atmosphere of the Sun - called the corona - as well as hot flare plasma. Hot active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - called coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.
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SDO AIA-304
This channel is especially good at showing areas where cooler dense plumes of plasma (filaments and prominences) are located above the visible surface of the Sun. Many of these features either can't be seen or appear as dark lines in the other channels. The bright areas show places where the plasma has a high density.
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