M1 solar flare, G2 storm watch

Monday, 31 January 2022 14:24 UTC

M1 solar flare, G2 storm watch

Sunspot region 2936 produced an M1.1 solar flare which peaked at 23:32 UTC back on Saturday, 29 January. This large sunspot region was already producing numerous C-class solar flare at the time and developed a Beta-Gamma-Delta magnetic layout. This resulted in a moderate M-class eruption which launched a coronal mass ejection into space. Sunspot region 2936 has quieted down significantly since this eruption and while it remains a large sunspot region, it only has a Beta magnetic layout making more significant flares unlikely.

Coronal mass ejection and G2 storm watch

The M1.1 solar flare did indeed launch a slow asymmetrical full halo coronal mass ejection into space as seen by the SOHO spacecraft watching from Earth's point of view. The bulk of this plasma cloud is heading mostly north-east but we do expect a portion of the cloud to impact our planet.

Looking at the ENLIL solar wind model we see an expected arrival time early on 2 February which is a fair assumption considering the fairly slow speed of this plasma cloud. The NOAA SWPC has issued a moderate G2 (Kp6) geomagnetic storm watch for 2 February. We suspect this might be a tad optimistic due to the coronal mass ejection being fairly slow and not aimed towards Earth head-on but sky watchers should still be on alert in the coming days.

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