Solar Watch Farside Eruptions Chance Of Polar Geomagnetic Storms

DECEMBER 23, 2012 - SUN - Solar activity has been at low levels for the past 24 hours. The largest solar event of the period was a C1 event observed at 22/2220Z from Region 1633 (S05W27). There are currently 3 numbered sunspot regions on the disk.FARSIDE ERUPTION: No strong flares have issued from the sun in weeks, but solar activity might not be as low as it seems. The farside of the sun is increasingly restless. On Dec. 21st, multiple CMEs flew over the edge of the solar disk, and today NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft observed a filament erupting on the farside. The blast site is circled in this extreme ultraviolet image taken on Dec. 23rd at 11:15 UT:CHANCE OF STORMS: NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% to 20% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Dec. 24th in response to a CIR or "corotating interaction region." A CIR is a boundary between fast- and slow-moving streams in the solar wind. Crossing a CIR, as Earth will do on Christmas Eve, can spark magnetic storms and auroras. WATCH: Farside Eruption on the Sun.

Credit: unexplored-earth.blogspot.com