From Spaceweather.com:
DENSE SOLAR WIND SPARKS GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A
dense wave of solar wind gently crashed against Earth's magnetic field on Aug. 2nd, sparking a
G1-class geomagnetic storm. It may have been a ripple from a passing CME--one of several "near miss CMEs" that left the sun in late July.
Twilight auroras mixed with noctilucent clouds were seen in Norway.
Aurora alerts:SMS Text.
SOLAR MAX MIGHT COME A YEAR EARLY: Solar Cycle 25 is heating up faster than expected. The latest sign may be found in sunspot counts from July 2021. Continuing a trend that started last year, they overperform the official forecast:
Issued by the NOAA/NASA Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel in 2019, the official forecast calls for Solar Cycle 25 to peak in July 2025. However,
a better fit to current data shows Solar Cycle 25 peaking in
October 2024. This is just outside the 8-month error bars of the Panel's forecast.
July 2021 was a remarkable month. Solar Cycle 25 crossed multiple thresholds, including its
first X-flare and, at one point,
6 sunspots on the solar disk. The last time so many sunspots were seen at the same time was Sept. 2017 (
SWx archive). One farside CME in July was so strong
it affected Earthdespite being on the "wrong" side of the sun. A handful of other CMEs narrowly missed our planet.
If solar activity increases apace, some of those blows will soon begin to land. Stay tuned.
Aurora alerts: SMS Text.