Sept 5th, More CMEs...

The above X-ray image of the sun was taken September 5th at 00:52:00 UTC by the Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) aboard the GOES-15 satellite. Image Credit: NOAA

For the end of September 3rd and most of the 4th, the solar activity was low. Active Region 1564 (AR 1564) was the most active, producing occasional low-level C-class solar flares. And the region's spot count increased and decreased over this period. AR 1560 showed a slight decrease in spots and area. No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed during the period. The forecast through September 7th: The solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for an isolated M-class flare.

Here at home, the geomagnetic field activity level ranged from quiet to minor storm levels with some major storms at high latitudes, all from the residual effects from an earlier CME. The forecast through September 7th: For the 5th and 6th, the level of geomagnetic field activity is expected to range from quiet to unsettled with a chance for active levels. This is due to the arrival of the September 2nd CME, along with a co-rotating interaction region in advance of a coronal hole high-speed stream. The CMEs are expected to arrive around midday on the 5th. And the high-speed stream is expected to commence on the 6th. Field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on the 7th as the effects of the high-speed stream subside. 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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