Solar Terrestrial Activity Report

Activity chart

Last major update issued on July 3, 2021 at 07:45 UT.

Charts (* = updated daily) Data and archive
  Solar wind (*) Solar and geomagnetic data - last month (*)
  Electron fluence (*) Archived daily reports and monthly data since 2003.01 (July 2, 2021)
Solar cycle Solar cycles 23-25 (July 1, 2021) Historical solar and geomagnetic data charts 1954-2006 (April 5, 2007)
  Cycle 24-25 progress (July 1, 2021) Noon SDO sunspot count 1K image / 4K (*)
  Solar cycles 1-24 (June 1, 2020) POES auroral activity level October 2009 - December 2012]
  Comparison of cycles 21-25 (July 1, 2021) 3rd SSN Workshop, Tucson, 2013
  Comparison of cycles 12-14, 16, 24-25 (July 1, 2021) 4th SSN Workshop, Locarno, 2014
  Solar polar fields vs. solar cycles (January 7, 2021) Cycle 25 spots (final update December 25, 2019)
  Solar cycles 24-25 using 365d smoothing Research: Solar Cycle 25 Started on November 17, 2019 with 365 Days Smoothing

Recent activity

The geomagnetic field was quiet on July 2. The high latitude magnetometer at Andenes recorded quiet to unsettled conditions.

Solar flux density measured at 20h UT on 2.8 GHz was 94.9 - increasing 20.5 over the previous solar rotation. (Centered 1 year average SF at 1 AU - 183 days ago: 76.77). The Potsdam WDC planetary A index was 4 (STAR Ap - based on the mean of three hour interval ap indices: 4.5). Three hour interval K indices: 11211111 (planetary), 11212221 (Boulder), 31211323 (Andenes).

The background x-ray flux is at the class B3 level (GOES 16).

At the time of counting spots (see image time), spots were observed in 8 active regions using 2K resolution (SN: 169) and in 8 active regions using 1K resolution (SN: 143) SDO/HMI images.

Region 12835 [S18W30] decayed slowly in the trailing spot section. The region was quiet but does have M class flare potential.
Region 12836 [S25W36] decayed slowly and quietly.
Region 12837 [N18E16] was quiet and stable.

Spotted regions not observed (or interpreted differently) by SWPC:
S6942 [N15W33] was quiet and stable.
S6947 [N23W48] reemerged with a tiny spot.
New region S6960 [S17W10] emerged before noon with a single tiny spot, then that spot faded and another tiny spot emerged.
New region S6961 [N23W75] emerged quickly late in the day.
The region appears to be very unstable and has so far on July 3 produced 2 C flares and an M2.7 flare at 07:17 UT.
New region S6962 [S16E01] emerged with tiny spots.

C2+ flares:

Magnitude Peak time (UT) Location AR Recorded by Comment
           

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs)

June 30-July 2: No obviously Earth directed CMEs were observed in available LASCO imagery.

Coronal holes

[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 southern hemisphere coronal hole (CH1019) was Earth facing on July 2, CH1019 lost area on July 1-2.

Propagation

Long distance low and medium frequency (below 2 MHz) propagation along paths north of due west over upper middle and high latitudes is poor. Propagation on long distance northeast-southwest paths is poor.

Forecast

The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet on July 3-4. A few unsettled intervals are possible on July 5 due to effects from CH1019.

Coronal holes (1) Coronal mass ejection (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.

Active solar regions


(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 red colored.

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
Magnetic
(SDO)
SWPC STAR Current Previous
2K 1K
S6942 2021.06.24   3 1 N15W33 0006   AXX  
12835 2021.06.24
2021.06.25
31 43 36 S18W29 0560 DKC DKI beta-delta
S6946 2021.06.25       N15W56            
S6947 2021.06.25   1 1 N23W48 0003   AXX    
S6949 2021.06.26       S16W14            
12836 2021.06.26
2021.06.27
2 7 4 S26W36 0010 AXX CRO

 

S6951 2021.06.26       S02W51           SC24
12837 2021.06.27
2021.06.28
9 19 13 N18E16 0030 DRO DRI  
S6955 2021.06.28       S02W13           SC24
S6956 2021.06.29       S28E06            
S6957 2021.06.29       S19E08          
S6958 2021.06.30       N04W24            
S6959 2021.07.01       N27W05          
S6960 2021.07.02   1 1 S17W10 0002   AXX  
S6961 2021.07.02   11 6 N23W75 0040   DRI    
S6962 2021.07.02   4 1 S16E01 0007   BXO    
Total spot count: 42 89 63  
Sunspot number: 72 169 143  (total spot count + 10 * number of spotted regions)
Weighted SN: 55 108 82  (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): 79 93 114 k * (sunspot number)
As of May 7, 2016: k = 1.1 for SWPC, k = 0.55 for STAR 2K, k = 0.80 for STAR 1K

Monthly solar cycle data

Month Average solar flux International sunspot number
(WDC-SILSO)
Smoothed sunspot number (4) Average ap
(3)
Measured 1 AU
2014.02 170.3
(cycle peak)
166.3 146.1 (cycle peak) 110.5 10.70
2014.04 143.9 144.8 112.5 116.4 (solar max) 7.88
2017.09 91.3 92.3 43.6 18.2 (-1.3) 18.22
(cycle peak)
2019.11 70.2 68.7 0.5 2.0 (-0.6)
(Solar minimum using 365d smoothing:
November 17, 2019)
4.19
2019.12 70.8 68.6 1.6 1.8 (-0.2)
(ISN 13 months smoothed
solar minimum)
3.22
2020.01 72.2 69.9 6.4 2.2 (+0.4) 4.39
2020.02 71.0 69.3 0.4 2.7 (+0.5) 6.16
2020.03 70.2 69.5 1.5 3.0 (+0.3) 5.63
2020.04 69.5 70.0 5.4 3.6 (+0.6) 5.32
2020.05 69.0 70.6 0.2 5.6 (+2.0) 3.80
2020.06 69.5 71.7 5.8 7.9 (+2.3) 3.75
2020.07 69.5 71.8 6.3 9.0 (+1.1) 4.28
2020.08 71.6 73.4 7.6 9.5 (+0.5) 5.68
2020.09 70.7 71.4 0.7 10.5 (+1.0) 8.59
2020.10 74.6 74.2 14.6 11.9 (+1.4) 6.13
2020.11 89.9 88.0 34.5 13.6 (+1.7) 4.77
2020.12 86.9 84.2 23.1 15.3 (+1.7) 4.72
2021.01 76.0 73.6 10.4 (17.5 projected, +2.2) 4.39
2021.02 74.3 72.4 8.3 (20.3 projected, +2.8) 9.50
2021.03 76.0 75.2 17.3 (23.7 projected, +3.4) 10.17
2021.04 75.9 76.4 24.5 (27.8 projected, +4.1) 8.40
2021.05 75.3 77.1 21.2 (30.5 projected, +2.7) 6.50
2021.06 79.4 81.8 25.3 (33.7 projected, +3.2) 5.5
2021.07 94.5 (1)   4.1 (2A) / 64.0 (2B) / 48.8 (2C) (38.3 projected, +4.6) (5.1)
2021.08       (43.0 projected, +4.7)  
2021.09       (48.6 projected, +5.6)  
2021.10       (53.0 projected, +4.4)  
2021.11       (57.6 projected, +4.6)  
2021.12       (63.5 projected, +5.9)  

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 30 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: SIDC-SILSO.

Solar cycles 24-25 transition

Smoothed SF and sunspot numbers

 

This report has been prepared by Jan Alvestad. It is based on the analysis of data from whatever 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.