M1 solar flare, G2 storm watch

Monday, 31 January 2022 14:24 UTC

M1 solar flare, G2 storm watch

Sunspot region 2936 produced an M1.1 solar flare which peaked at 23:32 UTC back on Saturday, 29 January. This large sunspot region was already producing numerous C-class solar flare at the time and developed a Beta-Gamma-Delta magnetic layout. This resulted in a moderate M-class eruption which launched a coronal mass ejection into space. Sunspot region 2936 has quieted down significantly since this eruption and while it remains a large sunspot region, it only has a Beta magnetic layout making more significant flares unlikely.

Coronal mass ejection and G2 storm watch

The M1.1 solar flare did indeed launch a slow asymmetrical full halo coronal mass ejection into space as seen by the SOHO spacecraft watching from Earth's point of view. The bulk of this plasma cloud is heading mostly north-east but we do expect a portion of the cloud to impact our planet.

Looking at the ENLIL solar wind model we see an expected arrival time early on 2 February which is a fair assumption considering the fairly slow speed of this plasma cloud. The NOAA SWPC has issued a moderate G2 (Kp6) geomagnetic storm watch for 2 February. We suspect this might be a tad optimistic due to the coronal mass ejection being fairly slow and not aimed towards Earth head-on but sky watchers should still be on alert in the coming days.

Thank you for reading this article! Did you have any trouble with the technical terms used in this article? Our help section is the place to be where you can find in-depth articles, a FAQ and a list with common abbreviations. Still puzzled? Just post on our forum where we will help you the best we can! Never want to miss out on a space weather event or one of our news articles again? Subscribe to our mailing list, follow us on Twitter and Facebook and download the SpaceWeatherLive app for Android and iOS!

Latest news

Support SpaceWeatherLive.com!

A lot of people come to SpaceWeatherLive to follow the Sun's activity or if there is aurora to be seen, but with more traffic comes higher server costs. Consider a donation if you enjoy SpaceWeatherLive so we can keep the website online!

23%
Support SpaceWeatherLive with our merchandise
Check out our merchandise

Latest alerts

Get instant alerts!

Space weather facts

Last X-flare2024/03/28X1.1
Last M-flare2024/03/29M3.2
Last geomagnetic storm2024/03/25Kp5 (G1)
Spotless days
Last spotless day2022/06/08
Monthly mean Sunspot Number
February 2024124.7 +1.7

This day in history*

Solar flares
12001X2.45
22014X1.45
32023X1.2
42024M3.2
52001M3.13
ApG
1199928G2
2200337G1
3201328G1
4200122G1
5199820G1
*since 1994

Social networks