The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels on August 23. Solar wind speed at SOHO ranged between 396 and 497 km/sec, averaging 450 km/sec (-68 km/sec compared to the previous day). The high latitude magnetometer at Andenes recorded quiet to minor storm levels. The above 10 MeV proton flux increased slowly and was at 1.3 pfu at the end of the UT day.
Solar flux density measured at 17h UT on 2.8 GHz was 142.5 - decreasing 2.5 over the previous solar rotation. The 365 day average solar flux at 1 AU was 172.67 (183 days ago). The 81 day average solar flux at 1 AU was 139.2 (41 days ago, this is 44.4% of the total SC25 solar flux range from the max 81 day average peak on September 4, 2024 at 227.3 and an average 81 day flux of 69 at solar minimum). SC25 365d peak: 195.86 on October 13, 2024. The Potsdam WDC planetary A index was 4 (STAR Ap - based on the average of three hour interval ap indices: 4.5). Three hour interval K indices: 22111012 (planetary), 23122321 (Boulder), 53211123 (Andenes).
The background x-ray flux is at the class C2 level (GOES 19).
At the time of counting spots (see image time), spots were observed in 13 active regions using 2K resolution (SN: 196) and in 10 active regions using 1K resolution (SN: 128) SDO/HMI images.
AR 14187 [S20W47] decayed slowly and quietly.
AR 14188 [S09E06] was quiet and stable.
AR 14189 [N08W10] decayed slowly and quietly.
AR 14191 [N10E40] developed significantly as new flux emerged in the
intermediate spot section. A major flare is possible even though only minor
polarity intermixing was observed. C1 flares: C1.7 @ 05:29, C1.6 @ 07:14,
C1.9 @ 12:52 UT
Note that SWPC/USAF has not published any SRS data the last days.
Spotted regions not observed (or interpreted
differently) by SWPC/USAF:
S11356 [N22W27] reemerged with tiny spots.
S11358 [N10W23] reemerged with tiny spots.
S11368 [S27W03] developed slowly and quietly.
S11373 [N02E27] developed slowly and quietly.
S11374 [S18E68] was quiet and stable.
New AR S11375 [S15E80] rotated into view with a few spots. C1 flares:
C1.6 @ 05:54 UT
New AR S11376 [S11E78] rotated into view with a small spot.
New AR S11377 [S09W08] emerged with a tiny spot.
There's a lot of activity behind the east limb as observed in SDO/AIA imagery. The AR that released the huge CME on August 21 could rotate into view on August 24-25.
C2+ flares
| Magnitude | Peak time (UT) | Location | Source | Recorded by | Comment |
| C2.2 | 02:04 | 14191 | GOES18 | ||
| C2.8 | 06:29 | N12E54 | 14191 | GOES18 | |
| C2.0 | 09:19 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | LDE |
| C2.3 | 11:35 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C2.1 | 12:10 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C3.2 | 13:32 | N12E51 | 14191 | GOES18 | |
| C2.0 | 14:08 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C2.2 | 14:24 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C3.0 | 14:54 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C2.6 | 15:16 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C2.2 | 16:32 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C3.5 | 18:50 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C9.1 | 19:22 | N12E46 | 14191 | GOES18 | |
| C8.3 | 19:32 | 14191 | GOES18 | ||
| M1.9 | 20:06 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C5.7 | 20:44 | 14191 | GOES18 | ||
| C6.0 | 20:49 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C4.8 | 21:10 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C5.5 | 22:56 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C6.2 | 23:19 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | |
| C3.7 | 00:04 | southeast limb | S11375 | GOES18 | flare started at 23:56 |
August 22-23: No obviously Earth directed CMEs.
August 21: One of the most impressive full halo CMEs of solar cycle
25 was observed in LASCO imagery starting at 08:24 UT. The source was 3-4
days behind the northeast limb based on mass distribution. The CME was very
fast with no Earth directed components.
[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 northern hemisphere coronal hole (CH1313) was Earth facing on August 22-24.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet levels on August 24. Quiet to active levels are possible on August 25-27 due to effects associated with CH1313.
| 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.
(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 |
STAR | SWPC | STAR | Current | Previous | ||||||
| 2K | 1K | ||||||||||
| 14182 | 2025.08.12 2025.08.13 |
N10W69 |
was AR S11340 location: N09W65 |
||||||||
| S11354 | 2025.08.16 | 1 | S20W32 | 0001 | AXX |
 |
 |
||||
| 14187 | 2025.08.17 2025.08.18 |
2 | 1 | S19W49 | 0010 | HRX |
 |
 |
was AR S11355 location S20W47 |
||
| S11356 | 2025.08.17 | 2 | N22W27 |
 |
|||||||
| S11358 | 2025.08.17 | 6 | 2 | N10W23 | 0010 | AXX |
 |
||||
| 14188 | 2025.08.17 2025.08.18 |
6 | 2 | S09E04 | 0070 | CSO |
 |
 |
was AR S11359 location: S09E06 |
||
| 14189 | 2025.08.18 2025.08.19 |
4 | 2 | N08W10 | 0020 | HRX |
 |
 |
was AR S11360 | ||
| 14190 | 2025.08.19 2025.08.20 |
N19E14 |
 |
was AR S11362 | |||||||
| 14191 | 2025.08.20 2025.08.20 |
29 | 12 | N10E37 | 0670 | EHC |
 |
 |
beta-gamma was AR S11363 location: N10E40 |
||
| S11364 | 2025.08.20 | N19W58 | |||||||||
| S11365 | 2025.08.20 | N36W23 | |||||||||
| S11368 | 2025.08.20 | 4 | 2 | S27W03 | 0010 | CRO |
 |
 |
|||
| 14192 | 2025.08.21 2025.08.21 |
N26W57 | was AR S11369 | ||||||||
| S11371 | 2025.08.21 | S40W17 | |||||||||
| S11373 | 2025.08.22 | 7 | 4 | N02E27 | 0040 | DRO |
 |
 |
|||
| S11374 | 2025.08.22 | 1 | 1 | S18E68 | 0030 | HSX |
 |
 |
|||
| S11375 | 2025.08.23 | 2 | 1 | S15E80 | 0090 | HAX |
 |
||||
| S11376 | 2025.08.23 | 1 | 1 | S11E78 | 0030 | HSX |
 |
||||
| S11377 | 2025.08.23 | 1 | S09W08 | 0001 | AXX |
 |
|||||
| Total spot count: | 66 | 28 | |||||||||
| Sunspot number: | 87 | 196 | 128 | (total spot count + 10 * number of spotted regions) | |||||||
| Weighted SN: | 108 | 70 | (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): | 96 | 108 | 102 | ||||||||
| Month | Average solar flux | International sunspot number (WDC-SILSO) |
Smoothed sunspot number (4) | Average
ap (3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 1 AU | ||||
| 2024.02 | 172.5 | 168.3 | 123.0 | 136.9 (+5.7) | 5.31 |
| 2024.03 | 154.4 | 152.9 | 103.7 | 141.4 (+4.5) | 11.03 |
| 2024.04 | 161.3 | 162.6 | 137.0 | 144.5 (+3.1) | 9.69 |
| 2024.05 | 187.7 | 191.9 | 172.1 | 149.1 (+4.6) | 23.56 (SC25 peak) |
| 2024.06 | 184.3 | 190.2 | 164.1 | 152.8 (+3.7) | 10.24 |
| 2024.07 | 196.6 | 203.0 | 196.8 | 155.0 (+2.3) | 7.13 |
| 2024.08 | 246.1 (cycle peak) |
252.2 | 216.0 (SC25 peak) | 156.8 (+1.8) | 15.96 |
| 2024.09 | 195.7 | 197.8 | 141.1 | 159.4 (+1.6) | 15.36 |
| 2024.10 | 221.0 | 219.6 | 165.8 | 160.9 (+1.5) (SC25 solar max) | 18.99 |
| 2024.11 | 199.6 | 195.3 | 154.1 | 157.1 (-3.8) | 9.33 |
| 2024.12 | 197.3 | 191.2 | 154.6 | 151.3 (-5.8) | 8.42 |
| 2025.01 | 190.3 | 184.2 | 137.0 | 146.3 (-5.0) | 13.17 |
| 2025.02 | 184.2 | 179.7 | 155.7 | (139.4 projected, -6.9) | 14.42 |
| 2025.03 | 163.7 | 162.1 | 134.2 | (133.4 projected, -6.0) | 15.96 |
| 2025.04 | 162.5 | 163.6 | 140.6 | (129.3 projected, -4.1) | 17.62 |
| 2025.05 | 135.3 | 138.3 | 79.2 | (124.4 projected, -4.9) | 17.26 |
| 2025.06 | 131.3 | 135.4 | 116.3 | (119.6 projected, -4.8) | 21.43 |
| 2025.07 | 137.8 | 142.3 | 125.6 | (115.6 projected, -4.0) | 11.80 |
| 2025.08 | 137.3 (1) | 87.7 (2A) / 118.3 (2B) / 140.5 (2C) | (110.9 projected, -4.7) | (11.1) | |
| 2025.09 | (106.5 projected, -4.4) | ||||
| 2025.10 | (102.6 projected, -3.9) | ||||
| 2025.11 | (100.3 projected, -2.3) | ||||
| 2025.12 | (98.7 projected, -1.6) | ||||
| 2026.01 | (94.6 projected, -4.1) | ||||
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 27 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
Sunspot activity has been on a decreasing trend since September
2024 (using the average solar flux over 3 solar rotations as a proxy).
Compared to the peak of SC25 solar flux has been at a low level in both May
and June 2025. Taking a closer look at the 81 day (3 solar rotations)
average solar flux proxy, its peak was in early September 2024 and had on
May 12 decreased to less than half of the solar cycle flux range.
Subtracting the 81 day average of approximately 69 at solar cycle minimum
from all measurements, the SC25 range is 0 - 158.3.
All 365 day smoothed sunspot numbers peaked on October 11-12, 2024,
very likely making this the peak of SC25 (365 day smoothed peaks: STAR 1K: 236.1, STAR 2K: 364.3, NOAA SN: 156.0, ISN: 163.9). The 365d
smoothed solar flux peaked on October 13, 2024, just 1.7% below the SC23
peak, and 62.6% above the SC24 peak.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This report has been prepared by Jan Alvestad. It is based on the analysis of data from whichever 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.
