The Sun experienced its strongest flare in two weeks.
The strongest solar flare since July 7 (more than two weeks) was recorded about an hour ago, at 9:35 AM Moscow time. This event occurred amid a general increase in solar activity over the past 24 hours. Over the past 24 hours, approximately 20 solar flares have been recorded, compared to an average of 1-2 events per day just three days ago.
The flares are being recorded in so-called geoeffective solar regions, which could potentially impact Earth but have not yet posed a direct threat. The large coronal hole currently observed on the star remains the main factor in space weather. Therefore, the likelihood of weak and moderate magnetic storms remains high today. Geomagnetic indices are already elevated, but are still below the magnetic storm threshold. The number of flares is expected to continue to increase. A level X event is possible within a day or two.
The surge in activity is currently considered local, associated with the random occurrence of an isolated large sunspot group (assigned number 4493 in the catalog). Global solar activity is currently assessed as low.
Video of the event is not available because the SDO, the world's main solar telescope, was in the Earth's shadow at the time of the flare. It missed the event.