AR 1540's M1-Class Flare August 11th!

The above image was taken August 11th at 12:21 UTC by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), at 131 Angstroms, aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The bright area at lower right is Active Region 1540 (AR 1540), source of the M1-class solar flare. Image Credit: SDO/AIA

On August 11th at 12:21 UTC, the Sun's Active Region 1540 (AR 1540) produced an M1-class solar flare. In the above image we see the view in high-infrared from the point of view of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The flare spiked and subsided relatively quickly and there is no indication as of this writing that a coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced. Elsewhere on the Sun, the activity is expected to be low, but with a slight chance for an M-class flare over August 12th through 14th.

Back at Earth, geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels, with a chance for isolated active periods, for August 12th through 14th. The elevated activity is associated with the arrival of a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream. Stay tuned...

To monitor solar flare activity minute by minute, visit the "Today's Space Weather" page of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, URL: 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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