August 28th, More ARs. That's About it...

The above image was taken August 27th at 08:21:00 UTC by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), at 131 Angstroms, aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). This was the time of the B9-class solar flare produced by Active Region 1558 (AR 1558), on the east limb. Image Credit: SDO/AIA

For the end of August 26th and most of the 27th, the solar activity was very low. Three new active regions were labeled: AR 1556, AR 1557, and AR 1558. And speaking of the latter, AR 1558 produced a B9-class flare, the largest for the period, on the 27th at 08:21 UTC. Several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed, but none appear to be directed toward Earth. The forecast through August 30th: The solar activity level is expected to range from very low to low, with a slight chance for moderate activity.

Here at home, the geomagnetic field level ranged from quiet and unsettled. The forecast through August 30th: The geomagnetic field is expected to range in activity from quiet to unsettled levels with a slight chance for active conditions on the 28th and 29th, due to continued effects from a coronal hole high-speed stream. On the 30th, conditions are expected to return to predominately quiet levels. Stay tuned...

To monitor solar flare activity minute by minute, visit the "Today's Space Weather" page of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (www.swpc.noaa.gov/today.html).

To learn more about the sun and to stay current on solar activity, visit the mission home pages of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) (sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov), the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) (sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov), the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) (www.srl.caltech.edu/ACE), and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) (stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov).

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