AR 1520-1521 Solar Flare and CME of July 17th

The above X-ray image was taken July 18th 02:44 UTC (July 17th 10:44 PM EDT) by the GOES 15 satellite. The X-ray emissions from AR 1520 and AR 1521 may be seen at the lower right (approaching the sun's western limb). This region was was the source of the M1.8-class solar flare and coronal mass ejection of July 17th. Image Credit: NOAA 

On July 17th at 17:15 UTC (1:15 PM EDT) the sunspot complex AR 1520-1521 (a combination of Active Regions 1520 and 1521) erupted with an M1.8-class X-ray solar flare which unfolded slowly over a few hours. Slow eruptions often produce coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and this one did not disappoint. The CME is expected to pass the planet Venus on July 19th and could give a glancing blow to Earth on July 20th. CLICK HERE to view a movie of the July 17th eruption, made by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

Meanwhile back a home, Earth's magnetic field is still settling down from the CME which passed on 14th. The odds of observing more aurorae over the evening of July 17th-18th are slim, but not out of the question.

To monitor solar flare activity minute by minute, visit the "Today's Space Weather" page of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, URL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ .

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 and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov .

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