M-class activity from sunspot region 3311

Saturday, 20 May 2023 13:07 UTC

M-class activity from sunspot region 3311

There as been a lot of M-class flare activity the past few days coming from sunspot region 3311 including an M6.4 solar flare (R2-moderate) which peaked today at 07:32 UTC and an M8.9 solar flare (strongest from this region thus far) which peaked just a couple of moments ago at 12:35 UTC. This latest solar flare is the third solar flare from this sunspot region which peaked above the M5 threshold.

No coronal mass ejections worth mentioning have been launched by sunspot region 3311 but more M-class solar flares are likely with a slight chance of an isolated X-class event. Sunspot region 3311 should be monitored as it rotates towards an earth-facing position as any coronal mass ejections being launched will have a higher chance to strike Earth. It is still unknown if the M8.9 solar flare launched a coronal mass ejection but the solar flare is impulsive and we do not expect it to be eruptive.

Moderate G2 geomagnetic storm

An unexpected coronal mass ejection passage which arrived just before 21 UTC yesterday pushed the north-south direction of the IMF (Bz) to a low of -17nT just after midnight (UTC) today. Moderate G2 (Kp6) geomagnetic storm conditions were observed. The current solar wind conditions are still elevated but further geomagnetic storm conditions are unlikely today.

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!

54%
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-flare2024/04/30M1.3
Last geomagnetic storm2024/04/26Kp5+ (G1)
Spotless days
Last spotless day2022/06/08
Monthly mean Sunspot Number
March 2024104.9 -19.8
Last 30 days146.4 +45.6

This day in history*

Solar flares
12022X1.1
22022M4.8
32022M2.6
42023M2.4
52022M1.99
ApG
11960174G5
2197858G4
3198542G3
4195266G3
5195651G2
*since 1994

Social networks