September 21st AR 1573 B8 Flare

The above image was taken September 21st at 12:21:00 UTC by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), at 304 Angstroms, aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). This was during the time of a B8 solar flare, produced by Active Region 1573 (AR 1573) near the center of the disc. Image Credit: SDO/AIA

For the end of September 20th and most of the 21st, the solar activity was very low. The largest x-ray event was a B8 solar flare on the 21st at 12:21 UTC produced by Active Region 1573 (AR 1573). The largest spot group on the solar disc, AR 1575 (1575), remains near 250 millionths in area with a Beta magnetic configuration. Two asymmetrical partial halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed in the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) LASCO instrument. Both events were determined to be backside sourced, and so are not expected to impact Earth. The forecast through September 24th: The solar activity is expected to be very low to low.

Here at home, the geomagnetic field was quiet, despite the influence of a weak coronal hole (CH) high-speed stream. The forecast through September 24th: The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled for the 22nd as the coronal hole effects wane. Conditions are expected to be mostly quiet for the 23rd and 24th. 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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