Solar Terrestrial Activity Report

Activity chart

Last major update issued on November 27, 2024 at 05:55 UT.

Charts (* = updated daily) Data and archive
  Solar wind (*) Solar and geomagnetic data - last month (*)
  Electron fluence (*) Archived daily reports and monthly data since 2003.01 (November 6, 2024)
Solar cycle Solar cycles 23-25 (November 1, 2024) Historical solar and geomagnetic data charts 1954-2006 (April 5, 2007)
  Cycle 24-25 progress (November 1, 2024) Noon SDO sunspot count 1K image / 4K (*)
  Solar cycles 1-24 (August 1, 2020) POES auroral activity level [October 2009 - December 2012]
  Comparison of cycles 21-25 (November 1, 2024) 3rd SSN Workshop, Tucson, 2013
  Comparison of cycles 12-14, 16, 24-25 (November 1, 2024) 4th SSN Workshop, Locarno, 2014
  Solar polar fields vs. solar cycles (October 13, 2024) Cycle 25 spots (final update December 25, 2019)
  Solar cycles 24-25 transition using 365d smoothing Research: Solar Cycle 25 Started on November 17, 2019 with 365 Days Smoothing
Calculating the Strength of Solar Cycle 25 Using 365-day Smoothing

Recent activity

The geomagnetic field was at quiet to unsettled levels on November 26. Solar wind speed at SOHO ranged between 366 and 431 km/sec, averaging 393 km/sec (-27 compared to the previous day). The high latitude magnetometer at Andenes recorded quiet to active levels. The above 10 MeV proton flux was at background levels all day.

Solar flux density measured at 20h UT on 2.8 GHz was 222.3 - decreasing 47.5 over the previous solar rotation. (Centered 1 year average SF at 1 AU - 183 days ago: 186.32. In comparison SC24 peaked on June 28, 2014 at 145.50 while SC23 peaked on February 23, 2002 at 198.15. Current SC25 peak: 186.32 on May 28, 2024). The Potsdam WDC planetary A index was 6 (STAR Ap - based on the mean of three hour interval ap indices: 5.5). Three hour interval K indices: 32011012 (planetary), 32112212 (Boulder), 43100013 (Andenes).

The background x-ray flux is at the class C1 level (GOES 16).

At the time of counting spots (see image time), spots were observed in 17 active regions using 2K resolution (SN: 414) and in 15 active regions using 1K resolution (SN: 272) SDO/HMI images.

AR 13900 [N25W31] decayed slowly and quietly.
AR 13901 [S08W45] decayed slowly and was mostly quiet.
AR 13902 [S15W03] was quiet and stable.
AR 13903 [S12W83] decayed slowly and was mostly quiet.
AR 13905 [S09E12] decayed slowly and produced several C flares.
AR 13906 [S16E22] decayed slowly losing area and spots. A major flare is possible.
AR 13907 [S21W21] developed slowly and has a magnetic delta configuration. A minor M class flare is possible.
AR 13908 [N13E39] was mostly quiet and stable.
New AR 13910 [N17E70] rotated into view on November 25 and was numbered the next day by SWPC.
New AR 13911 [S14W35] developed slowly and quietly as new flux continued to emerge.

Spotted regions not observed (or interpreted differently) by SWPC/USAF:
S10396 [N02W35] was quiet and stable.
S10397 [N17E18] was quiet and stable.
S10403 [S12W55] developed slowly and quietly.
S10405 [N20E69] was mostly unchanged and could produce C and M flares.
S10408 [S19W85] was quiet and stable.
New region S10409 [N06W39] emerged with several spots.
New region S10410 [N17W16] was observed with tiny spots in an old plage area.

C2+ flares

Magnitude Peak time (UT) Location Source Recorded by Comment
C7.3 00:08   13903 GOES16  
C9.4 00:23   13906 GOES16  
C5.0 01:17     GOES16  
C3.6 02:32     GOES16  
C3.4 03:20     GOES16  
C3.1 04:52     GOES16  
C3.5 05:17   13910 GOES16  
C2.7 06:51     GOES16  
C2.7 07:13     GOES16  
C2.8 07:24     GOES16  
C2.8 10:10     GOES16  
C5.5 10:57   13906 GOES16  
C3.0 11:37     GOES16  
C3.1 12:21     GOES16  
C7.4 12:39   13910 GOES16  
C2.8 13:10     GOES16  
C3.2 13:29   13911 GOES16  
C3.2 13:40     GOES16  
C2.7 13:56     GOES16  
C2.6 14:46     GOES16  
C2.7 15:30     GOES16  
C2.6 15:44     GOES16  
C3.3 16:09     GOES16  
C3.6 16:59     GOES16  
C3.5 18:02     GOES16  
C4.3 18:20   13905 GOES16  
C2.5 18:53     GOES16  
C2.4 19:13     GOES16  
C2.4 19:21     GOES16  
C3.0 21:21     GOES16  
C3.8 22:28     GOES16  
C3.1 23:51     GOES16  

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs)

November 24, 26: No obviously Earth directed CMEs were observed.
November 25: A large filament eruption in the southern hemisphere was observed after 02h UT. A partial halo CME was associated with this event, and there is a slight chance components of this CME could reach Earth on November 28. Another filament eruption occurred in the southwest quadrant after an M1 flare in AR 13901 late in the day. There was considerable coronal dimming. The CME will likely reach Earth late on November 28 and cause unsettled to major geomagnetic storm levels.

Coronal holes

[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]

A recurrent negative polarity southern hemisphere coronal hole (CH1257) was Earth facing on November 19-20. A recurrent positive polarity northern hemisphere coronal hole (CH1258) will likely rotate across the central meridian on November 27.

Propagation

Long distance low and medium frequency (below 2 MHz) propagation along paths north of due west over upper middle and high latitudes is poor to fair. Propagation on long distance northeast-southwest paths is poor to fair.

Forecast

The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled on November 25 due to effects from CH1257 and quiet on November 26-27.

Coronal holes (1) Coronal mass ejections (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.

Active solar regions



(Click on image for 2K resolution). 4K 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 officially numbered solar regions according to the Solar Region Summary provided by NOAA/SWPC, all other regions are numbered sequentially as they emerge using the STAR spot number. 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. SWPC data considered to be not sufficiently precise (location, area, classification) are colored red.

Active region SWPC date numbered
STAR detected
Spot count Location at midnight Area Classification SDO / HMI 4K continuum
image with magnetic polarity overlays
Comment
SWPC/
USAF
Magnetic
(SDO)
SWPC STAR Current Previous
2K 1K
13900 2024.11.16
2024.11.18
  11 6 N22W50 0020   BXO

location: N25W31

SWPC split off the trailing spot section into AR 13909 on 2024.11.24

13901 2024.11.17
2024.11.18
1 16 4 S09W46 0100 HAX CAO

area: 0160

location: S08W45

13899 2024.11.17
2024.11.17
      S10W69        

location: S11W66

S10379 2024.11.18       S17W40            
13911 2024.11.19
2024.11.26
8 12 7 S14W33 0030 CRO CRI   was AR S10384

area: 0040

location: S14W35

13902 2024.11.20
2024.11.20
1 15 7 S17W03 0040 HSX CSO

location: S15W03

area: 0090

S10390 2024.11.20       N27W10            
13903 2024.11.21
2024.11.21
4 5 2 S10W88 0030 DAO DRI

location: S12W83

area: 0020

13905 2024.11.21
2024.11.21
19 38 22 S09E12 0450 EKI EHI

beta-gamma

area: 0800

13906 2024.11.22
2024.11.22
16 64 33 S16E19 0520 EKI EKC beta-gamma-delta

location: S16E22

area: 0810

S10396 2024.11.22   3   N02W35          
S10397 2024.11.22   8 4 N17E18 0015   AXX  
13907 2024.11.23
2024.11.23
5 27 16 S22W24 0060 DAO DAC beta-gamma-delta

location: S21W21

area: 0100

13908 2024.11.23
2024.11.23
1 13 6 N13E40 0010 AXX CRI location: N13E39

area: 0025

S10399 2024.11.23       N13W23            
S10400 2024.11.23       S05W49            
S10401 2024.11.23       N01W24            
13909 2024.11.24 2     N25W32 0010 BXO       see AR 13900
S10402 2024.11.24       N24W15          
S10403 2024.11.25   8 4 S12W55 0020   BXO  
13910 2024.11.25
2024.11.26
6 7 5 N16E69 0250 DKO CKO area: 0550

location: N17E70

S10405 2024.11.25   2 2 N20E69 0020   DRO beta-delta?
S10406 2024.11.25       S08E29          
S10407 2024.11.25       S20E06          
S10409 2024.11.26   9 3 N06W39 0025   CRO    
S10410 2024.11.26   4 1 N17W16 0010   BXO    
Total spot count: 63 242 122  
Sunspot number: 163 412 272  (total spot count + 10 * number of spotted regions)
Weighted SN: 116 302 182  (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): 179 227 218  

Monthly solar cycle data

Month Average solar flux International sunspot number
(WDC-SILSO)
Smoothed sunspot number (4) Average ap
(3)
Measured 1 AU
2014.02 170.3
(cycle peak)
166.3 146.1 (SC24 peak) 110.5 10.70
2014.04 143.9 144.8 112.5 116.4 (SC24 solar max) 7.88
2017.09 91.3 92.3 43.6 18.2 (-1.3) 18.22
(SC24 peak)
2019.11 70.2 68.7 0.5 2.0 (-0.6)
(Solar minimum using 365d smoothing:
November 17, 2019)
4.19
2019.12 70.8 68.6 1.6 1.8 (-0.2)
(ISN 13 months smoothed
solar minimum)
3.22
2023.03 157.2 155.6 123.3 121.1 (+3.3) 14.42
2023.04 145.4 146.4 97.6 122.9 (+1.8) 13.40
2023.05 155.6 159.2 137.4 124.2 (+1.3) 10.67
2023.06 161.7 166.8 160.5 125.3 (+1.1) 8.95
2023.07  176.4 182.2 160.0 124.6 (-0.7) 8.15
2023.08  153.7 157.6 114.8 124.3 (-0.3) 7.19
2023.09  154.4 156.0 134.2 124.0 (-0.3) 14.26
2023.10  142.8 141.9 99.4 124.8 (+0.8) 8.16
2023.11 153.5 150.2 105.4 127.9 (+3.1) 12.20
2023.12 151.1 146.4 114.2 129.5 (+1.6) 9.60
2024.01 164.6 159.3 126.0 131.1 (+1.6) 5.46
2024.02 172.5 168.3 123.0 136.9 (+5.8) 5.31
2024.03 154.4 152.9 103.7 141.4 (+4.5) 11.03
2024.04 161.3 162.6 137.0 144.4 (+3.1) 9.69
2024.05 187.7 191.9 172.1 (149.7 projected, +5.3) 23.56
(SC25 peak)
2024.06 184.3 190.2 164.1 (153.6 projected, +3.9) 10.24
2024.07 196.6 203.0 196.5  (156.5 projected, +2.9) 7.13
2024.08  246.1
(cycle peak)
252.2 215.5  (SC25 peak) (158.5 projected, +2.0) 15.96
2024.09 195.7 197.8 141.4 (161.2 projected, +2.7) 15.36
2024.10 221.0 219.6 166.3 (163.5 projected, +2.3) 18.99
2024.11 195.6 (1)   125.8 (2A) / 145.1 (2B) / 195.6 (2C)
ISN current month average: 151
(161.8 projected, -1.7) (9.9)
2024.12       (158.7 projected, -3.1)  
2025.01       (154.4 projected, -4.3)  
2025.02       (147.6 projected, -6.8)  
2025.03       (142.8 projected, -4.8)  
2025.04       (139.8 projected, -3.0)  

1) Running average based on the daily 20:00 UTC observed solar flux value at 2800 MHz and any corrections applied to that measurement.
2A) Current impact on the monthly sunspot number based on the Boulder (NOAA/SWPC) sunspot number (accumulated daily sunspots / month days).
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.
4) Source: WDC-SILSO, Royal Observatory Of Belgium, Brussels

Solar cycles 24-25

Smoothed SF and sunspot numbers

Update on the progress of solar cycle 25 as of October 27, 2024

Sunspot activity in October 2024 increased over September and looks to be headed for an SSN near 160. The average solar flux for October will become the second highest for a month during SC25. The above plot now displays the peak in 365d smoothed sunspot numbers in mid October 2024. ISN has a peak on October 15, NOAA SN on October 14 while both the 1K and 2K SDO SN peaked on October 16. Assuming that the average sunspot number from October 2024 until April 14, 2025 becomes 150, we would be looking at a 365 days smoothed sunspot maximum of 164.5 centered on October 15. Should the average sunspot number for that period become 160 we would get a peak near 169.7.

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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 Universal Time. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

SDO images are courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.