New findings from the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft reveal that even the tiniest bursts of activity from the Sun may behave like their larger counterparts.
The STCE's SC25 Tracking page has been updated. The latest SIDC/SILSO provisional data indicate that SC25 reached a maximum smoothed monthly sunspot number of 160.8 in October 2024.
SIDC Sunspot Group 523 (NOAA Active Region 4114) produced an X1.2 flare on 17 June and an X1.9 flare late on 19 June. No coronal mass ejection seems to have been associated with these flares. ***UPDATED (1)***
Thanks to a push from planet Venus earlier this year, the orbit of the Solar Orbiter spacecraft was tilted. A century ago mankind raced to explore the poles of the Earth, now Solar Orbiter made its way to the poles of the Sun. For the very first time the solar poles have been imaged!
A severe geomagnetic storm is currently (1 June) in progress following the arrival of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection launched early on 31 May. (UPDATED)