Zonnevlammen, Zonnestormen en CME #6:

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Earth’s electrical rings released rare energy leak during recent G2 geomagnetic storm

A G2 – Moderate geomagnetic storm on October 18, 2025, produced an extremely bright red SAR arc visible from the United States to northern Europe. The event showed an unusually efficient release of energy from Earth’s ring current system, challenging current understanding of how the planet’s magnetic field interacts with the atmosphere.

A deep red band of light stretched across the night sky on October 18, seen from Maine to Sweden and Finland. The phenomenon followed a moderate G2-class geomagnetic storm caused by a coronal mass ejection grazing Earth’s magnetosphere. While the storm’s strength was typical, the optical display was not.

“My son and I were surprised by this red bow in the south,” said P-M Hedén, who photographed the emission from Norrtälje, Sweden. “It was so bright, I could see its reflection in a local pond.” Observers in southern Öland, Sweden; Searsport, Maine; and southern Finland captured similar images, confirming that the arc extended across the Atlantic sector.

“Only a few times in a solar cycle do we get an SAR arc this bright,” said Jeff Baumgardner of Boston University’s Center for Space Physics, who has studied the phenomenon for decades. “It nearly saturated our detectors.” He estimated the arc was 10 to 30 times brighter than a G2 storm would normally produce, a figure still awaiting calibrated data.

SAR arcs, or Stable Auroral Red arcs, occur when thermal energy from Earth’s ring current leaks into the upper atmosphere. The ring current is a torus-shaped flow of charged particles encircling Earth between about three and eight Earth radii, carrying electrical currents of millions of amperes.

During geomagnetic storms, part of this energy escapes along magnetic field lines and heats dense plasma near the boundary of the plasmasphere. Excited atomic oxygen then emits red light at a wavelength of 630 nanometers, producing the characteristic glow.

SAR arcs were first identified in 1956, at the dawn of the Space Age. Early researchers mistook them for auroras and named them “Stable Auroral Red arcs,” a misnomer since they do not originate from charged particles streaming in from space but from heat conduction within the ring-current region.

The red emission is difficult for human eyes to see directly because night vision is relatively insensitive to red light. Nonetheless, the October 18 arc was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye at mid-latitudes, an uncommon occurrence for a storm of moderate intensity.

According to NOAA’s space-weather scale, a G2 storm represents a moderate disturbance, typically too weak to produce such bright emissions. The brightness and geographic reach, from North America across the Atlantic to northern Europe, suggest an unusually strong energy transfer between the ring current and the ionosphere.

Comparable large-scale SAR arcs have been documented only a few times in recent decades, notably during the October 29, 1991, geomagnetic storm and a global SAR event in November 2023. The 2025 occurrence joins this short list, distinguished by its brightness despite moderate storm strength.

Researchers at Boston University and collaborating institutions are compiling ground-based and satellite observations, including data from NOAA’s GOES spacecraft and ESA’s Swarm constellation, to determine why this event was so luminous.

For now, the October 18 SAR arc demonstrates that even moderate solar disturbances can produce complex and visually striking energy exchanges within Earth’s magnetic environment. The mechanism behind this unusually bright leak remains under investigation.

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Op dinsdag 4 november 2025 23:23 schreef Houtenbeen het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op woensdag 5 november 2025 01:06 schreef Adrie072 het volgende:

[..]
Goed voor........?

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Long duration X1.7 solar flare erupted from Sunspot 4274
A major long-duration solar flare measuring X1.7 erupted from Active Region 4274 at 07:35 UTC on November 9, 2025. The event started at 07:01 and ended at 07:55 UTC. The region is located at the center of the solar disk, making Earth-directed CMEs very likely.

A Type II Radio Emission, with an estimated velocity of 804 km/s, and a Type IV emission were associated with the event, indicating a strong coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced during the event.

Additionally, a 10cm Radio Burst lasting 25 minutes and with a peak flux of 25 minutes was detected from 07:10 to 07:35 UTC. A 10cm radio burst indicates that the electromagnetic burst associated with a solar flare at the 10cm wavelength was double or greater than the initial 10cm radio background.

This can indicate significant radio noise associated with a solar flare. This noise is generally short-lived but can cause interference for sensitive receivers, including radar, GPS, and satellite communications.

The region is directly facing Earth, making an Earth-directed CME from this event very likely. It has a ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic configuration and is capable of producing more major eruptions on the Sun. Earth-directed CMEs from this region are possible in the days ahead.

Solar wind parameters in 24 hours to 00:30 UTC on November 9 reflected remnant CME effects and negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) influences. Total field strength gradually decreased from 11 nT to 5 nT. Bz was sustained southward, by as much as -9 nT, between 0000-08:30 UTC on November 8. Solar wind speeds ranged from 575 to 700 km/s, while Phi was predominantly negative.

Solar wind parameters are expected to remain enhanced through November 11 with negative polarity CH HSS influences (November 9-11) and the anticipated arrival of a CME from November 7 (November 10-11).

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Major X1.2 solar flare erupts from Region 4274 producing fast CME

Active Region 4274 produced its second X-class solar flare since it emerged from the far side last week, this time peaking as X1.2 at 09:19 UTC on November 10, 2025. This is now the third X-class flare since the November 4 X1.8 and X1.1. A coronal mass ejection (CME) was associated with the latest event and is expected to have an Earth-directed component.

A Type II Radio Emission with an estimated velocity of 1 321 km/s was observed at 09:11 UTC, suggesting a CME was produced during today’s X1.2 solar flare.

Additionally, a Type IV Radio Emission was associated with the flare event, suggesting a strong CME was produced. With the source region still in a geoeffective position, an Earth-directed CME seems very likely.

Radio frequencies were forecast to be most degraded over Africa, parts of the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean.

Region 4274 still has a ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic configuration and is capable of producing more major eruptions on the Sun. Earth-directed CMEs from this region remain likely in the days ahead.

Solar activity was at high levels over in 24 hours to 00:30 UTC on November 10. Region 4274 produced an X1.7/2b flare at 07:19 UTC on November 9, associated with Type II (804 km/s) and Type IV radio sweeps, as well as an F10.7 cm radio burst measuring 360 solar flux units (sfu).

The resulting asymmetric halo CME, first observed in LASCO C2 imagery at 07:48 UTC off the north-northeast limb, is Earth-directed with an anticipated arrival around midday UTC on November 11.

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Op dinsdag 11 november 2025 19:19 schreef Seven. het volgende:
Tegen 22:00 schiet de KP index al omhoog, om 04:00 zit 'ie boven 7. Kun je het dan ook al met het blote oog zien?

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Op dinsdag 11 november 2025 19:27 schreef Houtenbeen het volgende:

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Het moet eerst maar eens opklaren

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Major X1.9 solar flare erupts from AR 4299, producing partial halo CME

A major solar flare registered as X1.9 erupted from Active Region 4299 at 02:49 UTC on December 1, 2025. The event started at 02:27 and ended at 03:05 UTC. This region is currently making its second run through the Earth-side of the Sun, after producing multiple X-class flares in early November.

A Type II Radio Emission with an estimated velocity of 988 km/s was registered at 02:43 UTC, indicating a coronal mass ejection (CME) was associated with the event.

Active Region 4299 is located on the Sun’s northeastern limb, limiting the possibility for Earth-directed CMEs. However, this will change as the week progresses, and the region moves toward a geoeffective position.

This is the old Region 4274, source of multiple X-class flares during its last rotation over the Earth-side in early November, including X5.1 on November 11, which produced the strongest Ground Level Enhancement event in 20 years.

Other notable flares from this region include X4.0 on November 14, X1.7 on November 9, and X1.2 on November 10.

Radio frequencies were forecast to be most degraded over Australia at the time of the flare event.

“This storm is not Earth-directed (it is directed towards Saturn), but I would not be surprised if we see a radiation storm rise at Earth over the next few hours,” Space Weather Physicist Dr. Tamitha Skov said.

“Preliminary analysis of the recent X1.95-flare shows radio bursts of over 1.2 GHz observed at the new Wairakei SIGN station in New Zealand,” Skov said.

“This means this region has the potential to temporarily disrupt GPS/GNSS, satellite phone, and ADS-B airline transponder communications when it flares! Stay vigilant if you use these services while on the dayside of Earth!”

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But war isn’t the only threat he predicts. A massive solar storm could hit Earth between March 12 and 15, 2026, potentially causing widespread power outages. “The possibility of large-scale power outages is real, especially in more susceptible electrical systems, but nothing concrete,” he noted.

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Sun erupts with powerful X-Class flare
The sun sure has woken up this week, unleashing a powerful X-class solar flare along with a fast Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), which is currently forecast to hit Earth within the next 24 hours.

If the CME arrives as expected and has the correct magnetic orientation to be "geoeffective," we could witness strong (G3) or even severe (G4) geomagnetic storm conditions tonight, according to the U.K. Met Office. If these conditions are reached, the northern lights might be visible as far south as Northern California and Alabama

Space weather forecasters are busy analysing data and running models to narrow down the CME's arrival window.

CME arrivals are notoriously difficult to forecast. Their speed, direction of travel and — most importantly — their magnetic orientation all determine how strongly (if at all) they will interact with Earth's magnetic field.

If the CME's magnetic field is oriented southward, a component known as the Bz, it can more easily link up with Earth's northward-pointing magnetic field, allowing energy to pour into our planet's magnetosphere and trigger geomagnetic storm conditions.

Some CMEs contain a mixture of southward and northward magnetic fields, which can lead to stop-start or fluctuating geomagnetic activity. These events keep space weather forecasters and aurora chasers very much on their toes.

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SOLAR PROTON STORM IN PROGRESS
Energetic protons from the sun are raining down on Earth. They were accelerated in our direction by yesterday's powerful X-class solar flare (described below). This is called a "solar proton storm," and currently it is category S2. Shortwave radios inside the Arctic Circle aren't working right now due to this storm, which is causing a polar cap absorption event.

SIGNIFICANT X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Sunspot 4341 erupted on Jan. 18th (1809 UTC), producing an X1.9-class solar flare. The explosion lasted for hours, which makes this flare even more powerful than than its "X1.9" rating would suggest. This video from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory says it all:

Radiation from the flare ionized Earth's atmosphere over the Americas, especially South America. This caused a shortwave radio blackout that may have lasted more than an hour at frequencies below 10 MHz.

Of greater interest is the CME. The explosion launched a full halo CME with a significant Earth-directed component. NASA models predict that it will reach Earth during the early hours of Jan. 20th. The impact could cause a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm with mid-latitude auroras. Stay tuned for updated forecast models

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Rare S3 – Strong solar radiation storm in progress after X1.9 flare on January 18

A strong solar radiation storm (S3) is in progress after ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 1 000 pfu at 10:20 UTC on January 19, 2026. The event follows an X1.9 solar flare and full-halo coronal mass ejection that erupted on January 18. S3 – Strong solar radiation storms are relatively rare, occurring just a few times in one 11-year solar cycle.

Solar radiation storm produced by a long-duration X1.9 solar flare from Active Region 4341 on January 18 reached S3 – Strong levels at 10:20 UTC on January 19 after the ≥10 MeV proton flux exceeded 1 000 pfu.

The flare peaked at 18:09 UTC on January 18 and was accompanied by Type II and Type IV radio emissions, a 3 200 sfu F10.7 radio burst with a Castelli-U signature, and a full-halo coronal mass ejection first observed in coronagraph imagery at approximately 18:30 UTC. The CME is expected to impact Earth on January 20.

Proton flux levels initially crossed the S1 – Minor threshold at 22:55 UTC on January 18, exceeded S2 – Moderate levels early on January 19, and continued rising steadily through the morning hours. At 10:20 UTC, ≥10 MeV protons surpassed 1 000 pfu, triggering an S3 alert issued at 10:29 UTC.

GOES-18 proton data show sustained increases across multiple energy channels, indicating an ongoing and well-developed solar energetic particle event. Elevated ≥50 MeV proton flux has also been observed, confirming the high-energy nature of the storm.

At S3 intensity, increased radiation exposure is possible for passengers and crew on high-latitude, high-altitude flights, while astronauts conducting extravehicular activities are exposed to significantly elevated radiation levels. Satellite systems may experience single-event upsets, noise in imaging sensors, and minor reductions in solar panel efficiency. Polar high-frequency radio propagation may become degraded or experience intermittent blackouts.

Solar radiation storms of S3 – Strong intensity are relatively rare space weather events. Based on long-term NOAA statistics, only a limited number of such storms usually occur during a full 11-year solar cycle, as they require efficient particle acceleration by strong solar eruptions and CME-driven shocks.

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Op maandag 19 januari 2026 21:36 schreef MissHobje het volgende:
Is het al waar te nemen in NL?