Sun activity for June 28, 2023: A glow is in the airToday’s top news:  While sun activity continues at moderate, with two M flares fired over the past day, we have seen reports of airglow. Not to be confused with auroral displays, which are very well-structured and provoked by high speed solar wind, airglow is spread evenly over the sky and occurs when molecules of mostly oxygen and nitrogen are energized by ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sunlight. As we approach the solar cycle’s maximum, we’ll be able to witness these events more frequently. Turning back to the sun, sunspot region AR3354 has shown substantial growth, developing spots and penumbra. It now shows a beta-gamma-delta magnetic configuration. That means it has the potential for Ms and even X flares. This active region has also become the lead flare producer of the past day. Get more details below.
Last 24 hours: Sun activity remains at moderate. Between 11 UTC yesterday and 11 UTC today, we saw two M flares and 18 Cs. The largest was an M1.9 flare at 8:44 UTC on June 28. The second largest was an M1.3 at 15:14 UTC on June 27. Both Ms were produced by sunspot AR3340. After each M flare, R1 (minor) radio blackouts were registered. The first occurred over the middle of the north Atlantic Ocean, and the second affected an area over the north of Saudi Arabia. While active region AR3340 remains the only M flare producer currently on the Earth-facing sun, AR3354 took over as lead producer of the day with nine flares. There is a newcomer in the sunspot neighborhood, now labeled AR3355. This makes a total of eight numbered sunspots on the Earth-facing side of our star.
Next 24 hours: The forecast is a 99% chance for C flares, a 40% chance for M flares, and a 10% chance for X flares.
Next expected CME: A couple of filament explosions on the northeast were observed, both around 17 UTC on June 27. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can be seen in 304 Angstroms and SOHO LASCO imagery. Both events are under analysis and modeling to determine any Earth-bound component. No other CME has been detected coming toward Earth.
Current geomagnetic activity: Earth’s magnetic field is quiet at the time of this writing (11 UTC on June 28). It is expected to remain at mostly quiet levels during the rest of the day today and tomorrow, as effects of high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole wane.