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 activity remained at low levels. The largest event of the period was a C3.4 flare originating from Region 4446 (S16E16, Fko/beta-gamma) at 27/1216 UTC. There are ten numbered regions on the visible disk. Region 4452 (N09W35, Dai/beta) showed notable growth and new flux emergence, exhibiting a reversed polarity for its hemisphere. Regions 4445 (N07, L=163) and 4450 (N10, L=140) decayed to plage, though unassociated transitory pores were observed to in their vicinities. Regions 4453 (N11W76, Bxo/beta), 4454 (S15E48, Hrx/alpha), and 4455 (N15E65, Dao/beta) were numbered during the period, the later of which had rotated sufficiently onto the visible disk to verify a bipolar nature, so while some foreshortening effects are still present, the regions classification was updated to reflect this. All other regions continued either in slow decay or remained stable. A faint narrow CME first became visible in LASCO C2 at approximately 27/2300 UTC and CCOR1 at 28/0045 UTC. Data gaps in both disk and coronagraph imagery significantly complicate the analysis, so at the time of this writing, no on-disk source has been determined and while analysis suggests an Earth-directed component with potential for a minor glancing blow on 31 May, confidence in this analysis is low. No other Earth-directed CMEs were observed in available coronagraph imagery.
Solar Activity Forecast
Issued: 2026 May 28 1230 UTC
Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels through 30 May. There remains a chance for isolated M-class flares (R1-R2/Minor-Moderate) driven by the eruptive potential of the southeast sunspot groups and newly numbered Region 4455. 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