M1.9 LDE Flare In Progress - June 14, 2012

Updated @ 18:22 UTC June 14, 2012: 

 We currently have a M1.9 LDE (long duration event) solar flare in progress. This flare came from sunspot region 1504 and peaked at a M1.9 at 14:30 UTC Thursday June 14, 2012.  LED flares commonly occur in association with major eruptions on the sun and are typically associated with strong coronal mass ejections. Looking at the current STEREO A images, we can see there was indeed a CME produced in association with today's M1.9 LDE flare (images added below). Sunspot region 1504 is in a direct Earth facing position and because of this, the CME we see associated with this event is most likely Earth directed. There are currently no SWPC alerts or warnings issued for this event.

Today's M flare comes on the heals of a LDE M flare & Earth directed CME we saw yesterday June 13, 2012.  This makes for 2 LDE M flares and 2 Earth directed CME's in around a 24hr period. We will add a update with the ETA of the CME from June 13th as well as the CME from today, June 14th.

This LDE flare vent is still in progress.

Check back often for updates.
All updates will be added below.

CME as seen on STEREO A @ 15:24 UTC

Here we can see the CME produced with today's M1.9 LDE Solar Flare. Earth is located to the left hand side.

ANOTHER CME: On June 14th, for the second day in a row, sunspot AR1504 erupted and hurled a CME toward Earth. The fast-moving (1360 km/s) cloud is expected to hit our planet's magnetic field on June 16th at 14:00 UT, possibly sparking a geomagnetic storm. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

credit: Spaceweather.com

M1.2 LDE Solar Flare + Earth Directed CME - June 13, 2012

Updated @ 19:05 UTC June 13, 2012:

June 13, 2012 at 13:10 UTC Earth facing sunspot region 1504 produced a M1.2  LDE (long duration event) solar flare lasting for around 2hrs. Region 1504 is located in the southern hemisphere of the solar disk and has rotated into a direct Earth facing position. Because of the location of suns 1504, any CME produced by this region would be Earth directed. By looking at STEREO A and B, we can now see that there was a CME (coronal mass ejection) produced in association with today's M1.2 flare.

Check back often for updates for this event.

All updated info will be added below.

Here we can see the size and direction of today's CME as seen on STEREO A. Remember, with STEREO A, Earth is located to the left hand side.

M2.1 Solar Flare and CME

Sunspot Region 1494 produced an M2.1 s/f peaking at 20:06 UTC on June 6, 2012.  The SDO, Stereo, and SOHO spacecraft confirm  a CME associated with this flare.  Although a large portion of the ejecta from this CME was propelled south of the ecliptic, at this time it appears this CME will have a geomagnetic effect on Earth as it passes in  2-3 days.

 Type II (est. speed 1148 km/s) and Type IV radio sweeps were also emitted with this flare.

In this image of the X-Flux we can see the M2.1 flare as it was recorded by the GOES Satellites.

In this STEREO Ahead C 2 image we clearly see the CME as it is ejected away from the solar disk.  Notice that a large portion of the material is ejected south of the ecliptic away from Earth, but a clearly defined amount of material is also ejected in a full sweep.

In the video below created from SDO Composits of AIA 131, 211, and 335, you can watch this spectacular event unfold as Region 1494 (located south of the ecliptic just right to the center of the disk), unleashes this flare and CME in an Earthward direction.

Venus Transit

   This is the last time we will view a transit of Venus across the solar disk in any of our lifetimes.  The next transit of Venus will not happen again untill December 11, 2117.   The nearly 7 hour event can be seen in it's entierty from the western pacific, eastern Asia and eastern Austrailia.  Other parts of the globe will be able to view part of the transit.  You can view the transit live as NASA EDGE is brodcastsing the event here live Venus transit . The NASA EDGE team and the Sun-Earth Day team are broadcasting this last of a lifetime event live from the top of Mount Mauna Kea, Hawaii, through their partnership with the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.

   To the left of this post are images from SDO in varying wavelengths, as Venus began transiting across the solar disk today.

Below you can view a time-lapse video from SDO of Venus transiting the Sun today as well.