M5.6 Flare + Massive Earth Directed CME from Sunspot Region 1515 - July 2, 2012

    Sunspot region 1515 just had a M5.6 Flare peeking at 10:52 UTC this morning. Sunspot region 1515 is located in the southern region of the solar disk and is in a directly earth facing position for the next few days. There was a large CME produced in association with todays M5.6 solar flare and due to the position of 1515, his CME would be Earth directed. We have also noticed 2 other possible earth effective CME's that occured earlier in the day. We are going through more data on todays events and will report anything we find.

There remains chances for further M flares today and possibly even a X flare.



Today's M5.6 solar flare comes on the heals of a string of flares we have had over this last week. Here is a list of the most recent M flares we have had.

July 2012
M5.6 Flare on 7/02/2012 @ 10:52 UTC - Sunspot 1515
- CME produced- ETA: to be announced
M1.1 Flare on 7/02/2012 @ 00:35 UTC - Sunspot 1513
M2.8 Flare on 7/01/2012 @ 19:18 UTC - Sunspot 1513

June 2012:
M1.6 Flare on 6/30/2012 @ 18:32 UTC - Sunspot 1513
M1.0 Flare on 6/30/2012 @ 12:52 UTC - Sunspot 1513
M2.2 Flare on 6/29/2012 @ 09:20 UTC - Sunspot 1513
M2.4 Flare on 6/28/2012 @ 16:12 UTC - Sunspot 1513

The last X flare we had was in April 2012
X1.3 Flare on 3/7/2012 @ 01:14 UTC - Sunspot 1429

Continue to check back often for further updates and alerts as todays solar events unfold.
All updates will be added to the bottom of this report.

Total M flares for July 2, 2012 is 3
Read full report for all details

M2.4 Flare from Sunspot 1513 - June 28, 2012

A M2.4 Solar Flare has occured peeking @ 16:12. This M2 flare was originated around sunspot region 1513 located in the northeastern  area of the solar disk.

A strong chance for further M flares today is in effect, with a small chance for a X flare.

More updates to follow.

Double Shot CME's Have Arrived - June 16, 2012

The CME that occurred on June 13th and the CME from June 14th have merged in space en route to Earth and we are now seeing the front of the CME's arrive at Earths magnetosphere.
The density is slowly rising over the recent hours. We believe the main mass of the CME's has not yet hit. We come to this conclusion because of the merging in space of the 2 CMEs, the 1st CME was only a glancing blow, thus the front of the impact would be to the side.
The 2nd CME was a direct shot, thus the middle part of the impact would be more of a direct hit. We should see the results of this in the coming hours. A high latitude aurora watch is in effect for the evening of June 16, 2012. Auroras possibly visible as low as Michigan,  New York, Wisconsin, Washington and Main.

Continue to check back often for further updates and alerts as the expected geomagnetic storm progresses. All updates will be added to the bottom of this report.

Updated @ 23:05 UTC June 16, 2012
Density as high as 40.3 recorded at ACE
Density as high as 112.88 recorded at SOHO

Solar Conditions @ ACE:
Solar Wind Speed: 579.70
Density: 13.53
Bz: +35.2


Solar Conditions @ SOHO:
Wind Speed: 513.4
Density: 108.1

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