M1.1 solar flare, coronal hole facing Earth
Sunday, 12 April 2015 12:46 UTC
Newly numbered sunspot region 2321 looks to have fully rotated into view and was the source of an M1.1 (R1-minor) solar flare at 09:50 UTC. SOHO coronagraph imagery show that a minor coronal mass ejection was launched but it will more than likely be directed away from Earth.
Sunspot region 2321 possesses a couple of moderately large sunspots but it is surrounded by faculae, indicating this sunspot region decayed and was likely (much) bigger on the far side. We should nonetheless be alert for more moderately strong (R1) solar flares from this sunspot region.
Image: Sunspot region 2321 is surrounded by faculae as can be seen on this image by SDO.
Coronal hole facing Earth
Active (Kp4) to minor geomagnetic storming conditions (Kp5) are possible on April 14 and April 15 as a coronal hole high speed solar wind stream is expected to arrive on these dates. This solar wind stream is expected to originate from a southerly coronal hole that extends to about 20 degrees south of the solar equator meaning the stream is likely to hit Earth.
Image: A coronal hole is now facing Earth as can be seen on this image from SDO in the 211 Ångström wavelength.
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