NOAA 4274 has now rounded the Sun's west limb. During the previous 2 weeks, eruptions from this active region significantly affected space weather conditions. This newsitem provides an overview of the events associated with the 5 X-class flares.
SIDC News
After 2 days of relative quiet, NOAA 4274 produced its fifth (!) X-class flare on 14 November. The associated CME is expected to deliver a glancing blow early on 16 November, resulting in -at most- a minor geomagnetic storm. As a result, no aurora are expected to be visible over Belgium. ***UPDATED***
A severe geomagnetic storm took place early on 12 November. Aurora were sighted over Belgium. The fast CME related to the X5 flare from 11 November arrived around 19:00 UTC on 12 November. Its magetic field was much weaker than that of the previous CME, resulting in only a strong geomagnetic storm which is still ongoing. Aurora over Belgium are no longer expected. ***UPDATED***
NOAA 4274 produced its 4th and -so far- strongest X-class event on 11 November. A series of CMEs may cause strong to severe geomagnetic conditions over the next 2 days. There's a small chance for aurora over Belgium.
Active region NOAA 4274 (SIDC Sunspot Group 687), the return of the flare-productive NOAA 4246, has just produced its THIRD X-class flare. ***UPDATED (3)***
On 20 October, ICAO -the International Civil Aviation Organization- organised a Space Weather User Workshop on the provision and use of space weather information for international civil air navigation. The STCE contributed significantly.
NOAA 4246 (SIDC 639) started to develop on 10 October and produced over two dozen medium-class solar flares in just 9 days.
The STCE's SC25 Tracking page has been updated to reflect the latest evolution of some critical space weather parameters for the ongoing solar cycle 25 (SC25).
The combined high-speed solar wind stream from 2 coronal holes affected the earth environment from 30 September onwards.
September 2025. The space instrument EUI onboard the spacecraft Solar Orbiter, took its millionth solar picture. Congratulations!
The wind stream associated with a big coronal hole may trigger an increase in the number of highly energetic electrons in the satellite environment, thus posing a threat to satellite operations.