Last major update issued on May 18, 2014 at 18:45 UTC. Updates May 18-23 will be irregular and possibly incomplete.
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[Solar cycles 23-24 (last update May 1, 2014)] [Cycle
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[Solar cycles 1-20]
[Graphical comparison of cycles 21, 22, 23 and 24 (last
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[Solar polar fields vs solar cycles - updated
April 17, 2014]
[Presentation
3rd
SSN Workshop, Tucson, 2013 (pdf)]
The geomagnetic field was quiet on May 17. Solar wind speed at SOHO ranged between 322 and 404 km/s.
Solar flux at 20h UTC on 2.8 GHz was 133.5 (decreasing 29.0 over the last solar rotation). The 90 day 10.7 flux at 1 AU was 149.0. The Potsdam WDC planetary A index was 3 (STAR Ap - based on the mean of three hour interval ap indices: 2.6). Three hour interval K indices: 11010000 (planetary), 11021211 (Boulder).
The background x-ray flux is at the class B5 level.
At the time of counting spots (see image time), spots were observed in 18 active regions in 2K resolution (SN: 280) and 17 active regions in 1K resolution (SN: 225) SDO images on the visible solar disk.
Region 12056 [N05W80] decayed slowly and quietly.
Region 12057 [N17W68] decayed slowly and quietly.
Region 12060 [S12W47] was quiet and stable.
Region 12061 [S23W09] decayed slowly and quietly.
Region 12063 [N10E05] decayed slowly and quietly.
Region 12064 [N10W12] decayed slowly and quietly.
Region 12065 [S18E39] was quiet and stable.
Region 12066 [S16W12] produced a C flare early in the day and was
otherwise quiet.
New region 12067 [S08W69] emerged on May 16 as S3438, was numbered the
next day by SWPC and decayed slowly.
New region 12068 [S17E26] emerged on May 16 as AR S3439 and was numbered
by SWPC the next day.
Spotted regions not numbered (or interpreted differently) by SWPC:
S3417 [S20W17] reemerged with penumbra spots.
S3442 [S05W23] was quiet and stable.
S3443 [N22E25] was quiet and stable.
New region S3444 [S24E71] rotated into view.
New region S3445 [S19E66] emerged with a few spots.
New region S3446 [N02E41] emerged with a penumbra spot.
New region S3447 [S03W54] emerged with penumbra spots.
New region S3448 [S32E27] emerged with a penumbra spot.
| Magnitude | Time (UTC) | Location | AR |
| C2.8 | 02:39 | S15E01 | 12066 |
May 15-17: No obviously Earth directed CMEs were observed in LASCO and STEREO imagery.
Coronal hole history (since October
2002)
Compare today's report to the situation one solar rotation ago:
28 days ago
27 days ago
26 days ago
No obvious coronal holes are currently in or near Earth facing positions.
Long distance low and medium frequency (below 2 MHz) propagation along paths north of due west over upper middle latitudes is poor to fair. Propagation on long distance northeast-southwest paths is poor.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet on May 18-20.
| Coronal holes (1) | Coronal mass ejection (2) | M and X class flares (3) |
1) Effects from a coronal hole could reach Earth within the
next 5 days. When the high speed stream has arrived the color changes to
green.
2) Effects from a CME are likely to be observed at Earth within 96 hours.
3) There is a possibility of either M or X class flares within the next 48
hours.
Green: 0-30% probability, Yellow: 30-70% probability, Red: 70-100% probability.
(Click on image for 2K resolution) Compare to the previous day's image. 0.5K image
When available the active region map has a coronal hole polarity overlay where red (pink) is negative and blue is positive.
Data for all numbered solar regions according to the Solar Region Summary provided by NOAA/SWPC. Comments are my own, as is the STAR spot count (spots observed at or inside a few hours before midnight) and data for regions not numbered by SWPC or where SWPC has observed no spots. SWPC active region numbers in the table below and in the active region map above are the historic SWPC/USAF numbers.
| Active region | Date numbered detected |
Spot count | Location at midnight | Area | Classification | SDO / HMI 4K continuum image with magnetic polarity overlay |
Comment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWPC | Magnetic (SDO) |
SWPC | STAR | Current | Previous | ||||||
| 2K | 1K | ||||||||||
| 12055 | 2014.05.04 2014.05.05 |
1 | N13W91 | 0060 | HAX |
 |
rotated out of view | ||||
| 12056 | 2014.05.05 2014.05.06 |
6 | 4 | 3 | N05W78 | 0100 | ESI | DSO |
 |
 |
area: 0190 |
| 12057 | 2014.05.06 2014.05.07 |
1 | 2 | 1 | N16W67 | 0030 | HAX | HRX |
 |
 |
|
| 12058 | 2014.05.07 2014.05.08 |
S11W53 | plage | ||||||||
| 12059 | 2014.05.08 2014.05.10 |
S01W81 |
plage |
||||||||
| 12060 | 2014.05.08 2014.05.11 |
2 | 12 | 5 | S13W47 | 0140 | HSX | CAO | images/AR_12060_20140517_2345.png | images/AR_12060_20140516_2345.png |
area: 0230 |
| 12061 | 2014.05.10 2014.05.11 |
2 | 5 | 1 | S23W09 | 0090 | HSX | CAO |
 |
 |
area: 0160 |
| S3417 | 2014.05.11 | 3 | 1 | S20W17 | 0007 | AXX |
 |
||||
| S3418 | 2014.05.11 | N22W04 | plage | ||||||||
| S3420 | 2014.05.12 | S09W42 | plage | ||||||||
| S3422 | 2014.05.13 | S23E23 |
 |
plage | |||||||
| S3423 | 2014.05.13 | S09W06 | plage | ||||||||
| 12063 | 2014.05.13 2014.05.14 |
17 | 20 | 17 | N11E04 | 0080 | DAI | DRI |
 |
 |
|
| 12064 | 2014.05.13 2014.05.14 |
4 | 2 | N10W12 | 0007 | BXO |
 |
 |
|||
| S3426 | 2014.05.13 | N00W31 |
 |
plage | |||||||
| S3427 | 2014.05.13 | N18W43 | plage | ||||||||
| 12066 | 2014.05.13 2014.05.16 |
5 | 15 | 6 | S15W12 | 0040 | DAO | DAO |
 |
 |
area: 0120 |
| 12065 | 2014.05.14 2014.05.15 |
4 | 8 | 6 | S18E38 | 0010 | BXO | CRO |
 |
 |
|
| S3433 | 2014.05.15 | N18W16 |
 |
plage | |||||||
| S3434 | 2014.05.15 | N23W53 | plage | ||||||||
| S3436 | 2014.05.15 | N08E22 | plage | ||||||||
| S3437 | 2014.05.15 | N25E42 | plage | ||||||||
| 12067 | 2014.05.16 2014.05.17 |
4 | 4 | 2 | S08W69 | 0010 | CRO | DRO |
 |
 |
|
| 12068 | 2014.05.16 2014.05.17 |
4 | 6 | 4 | S17E26 | 0020 | CRO | DRO |
 |
 |
|
| S3440 | 2014.05.16 | 8 | 6 | S12W00 | 0020 | BXI |
 |
||||
| S3441 | 2014.05.16 | N27W11 |
 |
plage | |||||||
| S3442 | 2014.05.16 | 3 | 2 | S05W23 | 0008 | BXO |
 |
 |
|||
| S3443 | 2014.05.16 | 4 | 1 | N10E05 | 0010 | BXO |
 |
 |
|||
| S3444 | 2014.05.17 | 2 | 1 | S24E71 | 0006 | AXX |
 |
||||
| S3445 | 2014.05.17 | 2 | 1 | S19E66 | 0010 | CRO |
 |
||||
| S3446 | 2014.05.17 | 1 | N02E41 | 0002 | AXX |
 |
|||||
| S3447 | 2014.05.17 | 4 | 1 | S03W54 | 0010 | BXO |
 |
||||
| S3448 | 2014.05.17 | 1 | 1 | S32E27 | 0003 | AXX |
 |
||||
| Total spot count: | 46 | 100 | 55 | ||||||||
| Sunspot number: | 146 | 280 | 225 | (total spot count + 10 * number of spotted regions) | |||||||
| Weighted SN: | 87 | 138 | 93 | (Sum of total spot count + classification weighting for each AR. Classification weighting: X=0, R=3, A/S=5, H/K=10) | |||||||
| Relative sunspot number (Wolf number): | 88 | 98 | 124 | k * (sunspot number). k = 0.6 for SWPC, k = 0.35 for MSN 2K, k = 0.55 for MSN 1K (MSN=Magnetic Sunspot Number) | |||||||
| Month | Average solar flux | International sunspot number (WDC-SILSO) |
Smoothed sunspot number | Average ap (3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 1 AU | ||||
| 2013.02 | 104.3 | 101.8 | 38.0 | 58.4 (-0.3) | 6.11 |
| 2013.03 | 111.3 | 110.2 | 57.9 | 57.5 (-0.9) | 10.56 |
| 2013.04 | 124.8 | 125.9 | 72.4 | 57.9 (+0.4) | 5.40 |
| 2013.05 | 131.4 | 134.3 | 78.7 | 59.9 (+2.0) | 9.73 |
| 2013.06 | 110.1 | 113.7 | 52.5 | 62.6 (+2.7) | 12.60 |
| 2013.07 | 115.5 | 119.3 | 57.0 | 65.5 (+2.9) | 9.47 |
| 2013.08 | 114.6 | 118.3 | 66.0 | 69.0 (+3.5) | 8.27 |
| 2013.09 | 102.6 | 103.7 | 36.9 | 73.1 (+4.1) | 5.23 |
| 2013.10 | 132.1 | 131.2 | 85.6 | 75.0 (+1.9) | 7.71 |
| 2013.11 | 148.3 | 145.1 | 77.6 | (75.6 projected, +0.6) | 5.68 |
| 2013.12 | 147.7 | 143.1 | 90.3 | (76.6 projected, +1.0) | 4.68 |
| 2014.01 | 157.4 | 152.4 | 82.0 | (77.6 projected, +1.0) | 5.44 |
| 2014.02 | 170.3 (cycle peak) |
166.3 | 102.8 (cycle peak) | (77.4 projected, -0.2) | 10.70 |
| 2014.03 | 149.9 | 148.5 | 92.2 | (77.9 projected, +0.5) | 4.88 |
| 2014.04 | 143.9 | 144.8 | 84.7 | (77.0 projected, -0.9) | 7.88 |
| 2014.05 | 145.6 (1) | 72.0 (2A) / 131.3 (2B) / 105.4 (2C) | (74.4 projected, -2.6) | (6.1) | |
1) Running average based on the daily 20:00 UTC observed solar flux value at
2800 MHz.
2A) Current impact on the monthly sunspot number based on the Boulder
(NOAA/SWPC) sunspot number (accumulated daily sunspots / month days). The
official WDC-SILSO international sunspot number is typically 30-50% lower. 2B)
Boulder SN current month
average to date. 2C) STAR SDO 1K Wolf number 30 day average.
3) Running average based on the quicklook and definitive Potsdam WDC ap indices.
Values in red are based on the definitive
international
GFZ Potsdam
WDC
ap indices.
This report has been prepared by Jan Alvestad. It is based on the analysis of data from whatever sources are available at the time the report is prepared. All time references are to the UTC day. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.
SDO images are courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.
