The Latest Solar Images

Observations are happening daily, except for most Saturdays, all Sundays, and holiday periods; and are governed by duty schedule, weather, and solar activity. When the Sun has very low activity (spotless), observations will be limited or non-existent. Whenever the Sun becomes active again, the observing program will become active as well, weather permitting. The Sun is expected to reach the maximum activity level of the current Cycle 25 solar cycle. So we anticipate more events in terms of active region size and number, and solar flares.

One can monitor the Sun via several websites that provide real-time images of the Sun. The website, https://www.solarmonitor.org/, has such images in six different channels. The numbers are the NOAA designations for active regions (with the “1” at the start of the designation removed for convenience). Another website with up-t0-date information on solar activity and other goings-on in the skies is www.spaceweather.com. Additional information about the Sun’s current activity can be obtained from https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/, and real-time full-disk H-alpha images from observatories around the world can be viewed at http://halpha.nso.edu/.

A typical observing run may last from one to four hours, depending on seeing considerations, weather, and other work responsibilities, but will include active region monitoring of available active regions and the collection of frames for high-resolution solar mosaics in H-alpha. Each session includes at least one mosaic, which is a series of images made of all parts of the Sun’s disk that can later be stitched together to form a whole-disk image. At the very least, this ensures that all visible features such as prominences, filaments, and active regions (sunspot groups) are all captured in image form at least once per session. Usually observations are carried out in the late morning hours, but an additional session may occur in the mid-afternoon hours and it will include its own mosaic. If a sunspot group is expected to be active, then it becomes a main focus for observation for extended periods of time.

Solar activity is summarized in each day’s entry below, based on the forecast discussion product issued by the Space Weather Prediction Center each morning, along with observed activity (or lack of) the day of the featured observations. Regions are numbered by the NOAA/SWPC and are often provided in four-digit format (e.g. 3327), although I and other sources use the full five-digit designation (13327). Solar flares are described in terms of their X-ray intensity and optical “importance” (apparent brightness and area covered). One can learn more about the X-ray class of solar flares often discussed below by going to this website: https://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/flareclasses.html. Finally the SWPC 3-day forecast for solar activity is provided at the end of each entry.

More information about solar flares can be found at these websites: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena; https://www.space.com/solar-flares-effects-classification-formation; and https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/solar-activity/solar-flares.html. I have also found the following website to be very useful: spaceweatherlive.com

The solar images are recorded through a Meade 16-inch f/8 Cassegrain telescope equipped with a 0.3 Å Hydrogen-alpha filter and a 16-bit, 3326×2504 pixel SBIG STF-8300 CCD camera. The aperture of the scope is stopped to 4-7/8 inch by an energy-rejection filter, which renders the system an f/26. A neutral density filter is added to bring the sunlight intensity down by 90%. Each image is automatically dark-subtracted as it is saved and each exposure is 0.1 second long for the red off-band continuum images and 0.5 second for the on-band H-alpha images. Flat field images are taken at periodic intervals throughout the observing session and are obtained by training the telescope to focus near the center of the Sun’s disk. Five images are then taken while dithering the frame 1′ to 5′ N,S,E, and W. The idea is to try to get images that are slightly blurred (either due to seeing or scope motion) and off set from each other. A set of 30 bias images (0-second exposures with the dome closed and scope parked) are taken at the end of each observing session.

Select images are processed for further study and display. A program called MaxIM DL is used to do basic calibration (bias-subtraction and flat field correction), and the levels are adjusted for optimum display contrast. Choice images are then selected for online display. All of the images are archived in their raw FITS format, sorted by date, and backed up twice. At a later time we can mass process these and make them available for scientific use. Inquiries can be made of Brian Cudnik, at bmcudnik@pvamu.edu, or Premkumar Saganti, at pbsaganti@pvamu.edu.]

NOTE: Images of the March 14, 2025 total lunar eclipse are posted at https://www.pvamu.edu/pvso/cosmic-corner/total-lunar-eclipse-1/

NOTE: Images of the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse are posted at https://www.pvamu.edu/pvso/cosmic-corner/partial-solar-eclipse/.

Observations have been conducted since then at the PVSO, primarily with H-alpha. There was a period of time when magnetospheric data were collected but the work had primarily been regional H-alpha images of active regions and filaments. Regular observations continued through the mid-2000’s, then became more sporadic through 2015. After a five-year pause, regular observations resumed (in their current format) on 8 January 2020.

September 10,2025

Solar activity continues at low to very low levels as the Sun continues the steady process of “wiping its face clean” of spots as this latest batch of spots approach the western limb. No spots are visible east of AR 14213, centered about 20W. Occasional low-level C-class flares came from ARs 14210, 14207, and 14206. There was slight growth in AR 14213, currently the largest active region on the solar disk at 220 MSH. The rest of the spotted regions were either stable or in decay. There are a total of seven spotted active regions on the visible solar disk. Another region, AR 14205, has become a spotless plage.

There was a coronal mass ejection observed from just beyond the west limb at 12:00 UT, 9 September. This is expected to miss Earth by a wide margin.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images (line-center), each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

These regions continue to rotate toward the western limb, with a new spot (AR 14215) just added.	This zone of the Sun looks like a quiet sun image. The large dark splotch in the left half of the H-alpha images is an artefact of unknown origins.
These are the dominant active regions currently visible.	The view is shifted toward the east to allow imaging of three filaments along with the two active regions.

Solar activity is likely to continue at low levels, with a chance for an isolated M-class flare through 12 September.

September 9,2025

Solar activity continues at low levels, with only a few minor C-class flares yesterday, continuing into today. The flares came from AR 14207, 14210, and 14213. ARs 14210 and 14213 have grown slightly. The rest of the visible spotted active regions remain stable or in slight decay. is growing and evolving, developing an increasingly complex beta-gamma magnetic configuration. Now all of the sunspot groups are west of the solar central meridian/west half of the solar disk, with the exception of a single, un-numbered spot near N16 on the solar CM.

AR 14207 (top) and three other groups rotate closer to the western limb.	AR 14207 (top) has produced a few low-level C-class flares, but this part of the sun is generally quiet.
What initially appears to be three large spots is actually two active regions. The single right-most spot is AR 14211; the rest make up AR 14213.	The view shifts ESE to include two filaments visible in the southern solar disk. AR 14213 has been the source of a few low-level C-class flares.

Solar activity is likely to continue at low levels, with a chance for an isolated M-class flare through 11 September.

September 8,2025

Solar activity continues at low levels. There were only a few minor C-class flares yesterday and today. AR 14207 is slowly decaying but maintains good form. AR 14213 is growing and evolving, developing an increasingly complex beta-gamma magnetic configuration. There were a total of seven spot groups on the visible disk, six of which is numbered and all but one west of the solar central meridian/west half of the solar disk. Most of these regions are either stable or in decay.

The first column includes red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures and covering 13.8’x15.8′ on the sky. The second column contains H-alpha line center images, each 0.5 second exposures, each covering 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Most of the Sun’s spotted regions are in the northwest quadrant of the disk.	This part of the Sun has been mostly quiet, except for a couple of low-level C-class flare events from AR 14212.
The rightmost spot is AR 14211; the rest of the spots below to AR 14213.	These active regions appear a bit more active, with some growth and increasing flare potential possible over the next few days.

Solar activity is likely to continue at low levels, with a chance for an isolated M-class flare through 10 September.

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August 18,2025

Solar activity, following yesterday’s C3.3/SF flare event from AR 14180 at 19:58 UT on 17 August, solar activity slipped to very low levels, with background X-ray flux levels staying in the B-class range continuously since 20:07 UT on 17 August. It’s been flat through 20:52 UT, with not a single flare occurring thus far today. After 20:52 UT, the flux started slowly climbing. Currently, there are only four tiny spot groups are visible on the solar disk today, including a simple round spot that just rotated into view over the ESE limb.

Solar activity bumped back up to the “low” category at 21:35 today with a C2.1 flare, peaking at 21:52 UT, from an unidentifiable source (nothing is showing on the GONG H-alpha images at this time), probably from over the eastern limb.

Each of the images below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The image on the left is a red continuum image, 0.25 second exposure. The image on the right is an H-alpha images (line-center) image, a 0.5 second exposure. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image. The camera power supply failed part way into the H-alpha sequence, so observations are halted for the foreseeable future after today (until a replacement is secured).

This view of part of the solar disk looks more like solar minimum than maximum. Three small regions (labeled) are visible.

In H-alpha, the two smaller spots/groups are lost in the H-alpha detail. Only AR 14188 is visible easily at lower left.

Solar activity is expected to remain low through 20 August.

August 14,2025

Solar activity continues at low levels with the overall X-ray background flux steadily declining over the last few days. The more complex spotted active regions have decayed some. AR 14172 produced a C4.0 flare at 20:03 UTC, 13 October. AR 14178, on the solar limb, produced 4 C-class events today (through 20:00 UT), the strongest of which were two C2.3 flares at 2:43 UT and 6:04 UT today. AR 14172 produced 3 low-level C-class flares today, each in the low C1 range. There are a total of 12 spotted active regions, most of which are small and unremarkable.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky, except where indicated otherwise. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images (line-center), each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Most of the active regions in the western half of the solar disk is visible in this image. Off the top edge is AR 14169.	The image is shifted north to include AR 14169, the single spot about 11 o’clock from AR 14172.
The eastern part of the Sun is mostly blank, as seen in this 13.8’x13.8′ image. AR 14179 is off the edge of the image, below and right of 14180.	The image expands to include a filament which had been visible on the disk for the last several days, since it rotated into view. Otherwise, this part of the Sun’s disk remains unremarkable with quiet and small and few active regions present here.

Solar activity is likely to continue at low levels, with a chance for an isolated M-class flare (due to AR’s 14172 and 14178) through the end of 16 August.

August 13,2025

Solar activity dropped to low levels. Since the M1.8 flare that happened early yesterday, there had been no further M-class or greater flare events through 23:00 UT today. There was only C-class activity, with AR’s 14172 and 14178 contributing nearly all of these events. AR 14172 is remaining mostly unchanged as part of it grows a bit and another part decays slightly. AR 14175 added a few spots, as has 14177, but both are quiet. AR 14180 has also grown slightly and produced C-class activity, including a single (so far) C1.8 at 10:39 UT 13 August.

A total of 11 spot groups are visible, eight of which are shown above. A single spot south of AR 14372 remains unnumbered as of this writing.	H-alpha image of the same region of the Sun as depicted immediately left. AR’s 14172 and 14178 have been the sources of nearly all of today’s activity.
Two of the active images from the first image, along with two more numbered and one unnumbered (above/left of 14180) rotating into view.	This zone of the Sun remains quiet. AR 14180 had produced a C-class flare early today and appeared to be flaring this morning during the session (but this was not reported).

Solar activity is likely to continue at low levels, with a good chance for an isolated M-class flare (due to AR’s 14172 and 14178) through the end of 15 August.

August 12,2025

Solar activity continued to be at moderate levels, with a few M-class flares. Most of the flaring activity had come from just beyond the western limb of the Sun. The largest event of this was an M1.8 flare at 1:23 UT today, likely from recently “departed” AR 14168. Only 24 minutes before that was an M1.5 flare that probably came from the same region. Since these two flares, there had only been C-class flares through 21:30 UT today. With the exceptions of three C-class flares from AR 13172 (the largest of these was a C8.3 at 18:43UT, none of the other 10 C-class flares have active region numbers attributed to them as source regions. This likely means that each event occurred just beyond the solar limb.

AR 14172 has grown some in its central region while decaying a bit in its trailing region, while neighboring AR 14178 grew some, as did AR 14180. There are a total of 9 spotted active regions on the visible disk, and aside from the three mentioned, are all stable or slowly decaying.

Many active regions (labeled) pepper the solar disk today.	All of these regions have been mainly quiet all day so far today.
More small active regions pepper the eastern half of the Sun.	This part of the Sun also remains quiet for the most part.

Solar activity is likely to continue at moderate levels, with a slight chance for an X-class flare from now through the end of 14 August.

August 11,2025

Solar activity continued to be at moderate levels, with a regular occurrence of low-level M-class flares. AR 14168 was the source of several M-class flares today and yesterday, including an M2.2/SF at 15:07 UT on 10 August and an M1.5 at 15:35 UT today (obscured by clouds at our location). It also produced a C9.9 at 3:05 UT today. Yesterday’s M2.2 launched a Coronal Mass Ejection off the western limb of the Sun. It is not likely Earth-directed. AR 14173 produced an M1.3 flare today at 3:52 UT as it rotated out of view over the WSW limb. AR’s 14172, 14174, and 14178 each showed growth. The remaining active regions were either stable or in gradual decay.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images (line-center), each 0.5 second exposures. Seeing worsened for the H-alpha sequence of images, hence the fuzzier appearances. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Many spotted active regions (labeled) are visible on the solar disk.	Hints of limb activity are evident as AR 14168 rotates out of view.
More spotted active regions are visible across the middle of the solar disk. All but two active regions are in the northern solar hemisphere.	AR 14173 has been the most active of these active regions, having been the source of an M1 flare earlier today.

Solar activity is expected to remain moderate, with a good chance of further M-class flares and a slight chance for an X-class flare, through 13 August. The probability of M-class flares drops to slight by 14 August as the source active regions rotate over the western limb.

August 8,2025

Solar activity continues its stretch of being at moderate levels as M-class flares continue to come from AR 14168. The active region/sunspot group has continued to increase in overall length and the size of its leading spot, as well as its magnetic complexity (sporting a “delta” configuration). AR 14172 produced a few C-class flares and is continuing to grow slowly. AR 14168 produced an M3.9 flare at 11:31 UT yesterday, 7 August, and this generated a coronal mass ejection (CME). This CME is forecast by SWPC to pass ahead of the Earth in its orbit sometime on the 9th or 10th of August.

We imaged part of a slow C8.1/1F event, which peaked at 14:35 UT. AR 14168 also produced a C7.2/SF flare at 0:57 UT today, an M2.8/SF at 3:53 UT today, and a few low-level C-class flares. AR 14170 produced a C9.7/SF at 16:57 UT today and also has the potential for M-class flares. There are a total of 12 spotted active regions on the visible solar disk, most of which are unremarkable.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.5 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images (line-center), each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Active regions of the western solar disk (labelled). Two are rotating out of view.	Much of the recent activity came from AR 14168. This is indicated by the bright patches near the active region.
These active regions are small and scattered and mostly inactive.	AR 14172 (just below and right of image center) has some activity potential.

Solar activity is expected to remain moderate, with a good chance of further M-class flares and a slight chance for an X-class flare, through 10 August. The likely sources of this activity are AR’s 14168 and 14172.

August 5,2025

Solar activity elevated to moderate levels with an M1.9 flare at 13:57 UT on 3 August from developing AR 14168. This was the first M-class flare in several weeks. Since then it has produced three more M-class events, the largest of which was an M4.4/1B today at 15:53 UT. AR 14168 also produced an M1.1 flare at 2:12 UT on 5 August, and a M2.0 flare at 4:57 UT on 4 August. This region was responsible for the majority of the flares that have been occurring over the last three days or so.

AR 14168 continues to develop today, but is only the third largest of the five visible active regions (90 millionths of a solar hemisphere, or MSH). AR 14165 just to its north is slightly larger, at 110 MSH. AR 14167 continues to be the largest spotted active region on the visible disk, at 280 MSH, but it is about to rotate over the western limb. It contributed C-class flares and showed signs of growth.

The M4.4 flare was observed almost in its entirety today. Throughout much of the observation period, AR 14167 seemed to glow with elevated plage glow or various optical sub-flares. This region also produced a C4,4 at 19:39 UT.

The AR 14165 (top part) and 14168 (bottom part) form a triangular batch of spots. AR 14167 (upper right) and the lead spot of 14161 (lower right) are also visible.	The M4.4 flare near its optical and X-ray peak. This flare was a quick event, taking less than five minutes to rise to maximum.
AR 14161 is the spot group below and left of image center. The largest single spot has been around for the last many days, but the spots below it emerged on 3 August and seem to be a separate region, though it has not been designated as such.	The 14165/14168 pair is visible to the left, with 14161 seen below and right of center. AR 14167 is visible at the upper right corner of the image. It has produced a number of optical sub-flares today
The eastern half of the solar disk is quiet. The lone spot is AR 14169, which just rotated into view two days ago.	AR 14169 has produced only one optical subflare (SF) today so far, at 15:35 UT.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance of M-class flares and a slight chance of X-class flares through 7 August.

July 31,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. There were only low level C-class flares occurring today, yesterday, and for the last many days. AR 14155 is showing signs of decay while producing C-class flares. So far, it has not produced anything today, but mainly yesterday. AR 14161 produced a few C-class flares as it also decayed some. AR 14165 is rotating into better view but it has been quiet. AR 14166 has emerged rapidly and is joined by an unnumbered group to its east (AR 14167), which is also growing. AR’s 14154 and 14153 each produced a C1.4 flare today, at 2:42 UT and 10:20 UT, respectively. AR 14153 produced a C1.6 at 18:52 UT, and 14155 produced a C1.7/SF at 15:43 UT (which was seen visually on monitor whilst the focus and contrast were being checked).

Six active regions are visible (labeled), with two more on the edge of the Sun (labeled, but the spots are no longer visible).	This part of the Sun, like the entire solar disk, has been quiet all day.
Two modest sized regions are visible in this image: AR 14165 (top left) and 14161 (bottom right).	The view shifts north a bit to include a filament (top center) along with the existing spotted active regions.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance of M-class flares through 2 August.

July 28,2025

Solar activity persists at low levels. AR 14161 produced the strongest flare of either yesterday or today (so far). It was a C3.1 at 18:32 UTC on 27 July. AR 14153 produced a C1.5 at 3:21 UT today, and AR 14154 produced a pair of optical sub-flares at 15:48 and 15:49 today. All of the visible active regions are little changed over the last day or two.

A cluster of sunspot groups continue their march across the solar disk.	This part of the Sun has been mostly quiet all day today.
More small active regions are rotating into view and across the solar disk.	The southeast quadrant of the Sun displays several small active regions and a large U-shaped filament.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance of M-class flares through 30 July.

July 24,2025

Solar activity was low. AR 14149 is undergoing decay, while AR 14150 added new spots in its front half. It produced a C2.5 flare at 13:37 UT on 23 July. This was yesterday’s largest flare. AR 14153 is evolving, and growing a bit but remaining quiet overall. More AR’s had rotated into view in the eastern part of the sun, with AR 14143 rotating out of view. Today’s flare activity was sparse, with five events noted through 20:00 UT. Two did not have a source identified, two (including the largest today so far, a C5.7 at 18:35 UT) came from AR 14149, and one came from AR 14155.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first image is in red continuum, 0.25 second exposures. The second image is an H-alpha image (line-center), 0.5 second exposures. Celestial/Solar north is up, west is right in each image.


Many active regions are found in the eastern half of the Sun.	Of all these active regions, only AR 14149 and 14155 produced C-class flares today.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance of M-class flares through 26 July.

July 23,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels. AR 14149 has grown a bit but otherwise remains quiet. AR 14150 was the source of a C6.4 flare at 20:12 on 22 July, the largest since a C7 early on 20 July. AR 14153 produced a C3.4 flare yesterday at 17:26 UT. The rest of the visible spotted active regions were quiet and inactive. A filament near the disk center of the Sun erupted around 5:00 UT early today. It may have produced a CME but this has yet to be confirmed.

AR 14143 is about to rotate over the west limb and is the only easily visible spotted active region in this image.	Things are lookin even quieter in this H-alpha images of the western part of the Sun.
Four active regions are visible here. A fifth region is out of view below the image bottom center boundary.	Only occasional low-level C-class flares have come from this area of the Sun day. AR 14543 is the region out of the field of vied

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance of M-class flares through 25 July.

July 22,2025

Solar activity continues to be low, with mainly low-level C-class flare activity through today (at 21:00 UT). AR 14149 is growing in size and spot number. So far, AR’s 14143 and 14153 are the only sources of a handful of flares that were observed so far today. The other visible active regions were mainly unremarkable.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images (line-center), each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial/Solar north is up, west is right in each image.

This zone of the Sun is now very quiet. The largest spot is AR 14142; AR 14143 can be seen very close to the solar limb near the top. AR 14150 is the tiny dot left and up from 14142.	Aside from a few C-class flares and optical sub-flares, this part of the Sun continues to be quiet.
AR 14149 (Large pair of spots, top center) has been quiet despite its large size. AR 14150 is the large single spot with several smaller spots nearby.	The view shifts southward a bit to include newly numbered AR 14153 (bottom left, small dark dot next to a bright spot). This AR was the source of at least one C-class flare today so far.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance of M-class flares through 24 July. There is a slight chance for an X-class flare today (22 July) from AR’s 14136 and 14143 as they rotate away from view but this threat decreases markedly after today.

July 21,2025

Solar activity continues to be low. There were only C-class flares through yesterday, the most recent being a C5.1/SF from AR 14143 at 0:09 UTC 21 July. Since the C5.1 there has been no further C-class activity, only an optical subflare from AR 14136.The majority of the C-class flare activity came from AR’s 14136, which is rotating over the western limb, and 14143, which is following close behind. AR 14136 produced a C6.5/1F yesterday, 20 July at 15:37 UT. There had not been a single M-class flare for the last seven days. There was a long duration, low-level C2.8 event, peaking around 21:00 UT, starting two hours earlier, and still near the peak as of 22:25 UT, but no information is yet available on this event.

The AR complex we had been following last week is rotating out of view (top just right of center).	AR 14136 and 14143 have been the source of almost all the solar activity recently. They are rotating over the western limb.
Several small regions are present, with AR 14149 dwarfing them in size.	No reported flaring events have occurred so far today from this part of the Sun.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a decreasing chance of M-class flares through 23 July.

July 17,2025

Solar activity was low. The largest flare today so far (through 22:15 UT) was a C5.9 at 9:28 UT today from AR 14136, which has grown some since yesterday. Also growing were AR’s 14142, 14143, and 14148. AR’s 14136, 14142, and 14143 became more magnetically complex. These regions, along with AR 14139, have higher probabilities of producing M-class (and even a slight chance for an X-class), which may increase if these continue to grow in size and complexity. An interesting note about AR 14142: it lies almost perfectly along the solar equator, but a slight excess of its surface area is north of the equator versus south. The magnetic polarity configuration of the region matches those of the northern hemisphere active regions.

The string of active regions continues to rotate toward the western solar limb.	AR’s 14139 and 14143 contributed, along with 14142, all of the C-class and optical sub flare activity so far today.
A sparser distribution of regions is seen in the eastern zone of the Sun. The largest group, right of image center, is AR 14142.	AR 14142, along with AR 14139 and 14143, have contributed all of the C-class and optical sub flare activity so far today.

Solar activity is likely to become moderate, with a chance of M-class flares and a slight chance of X-class flares, through 19 July.

July 16,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. The largest flare of the day(through 22:30 UT, 16 July) was a C5.0/SF at 3:58 UT on 16 July from AR 14143. AR’s 14139, 14142, and 14143 showed moderate growth, with 14142 and 14143 producing C-class flares. These regions continued to be the source of almost all the low-level C-class and optical sub-flares reported today. AR’s 14139 and 14145 each showed minor growth, while the rest of the visible spotted active regions were either stable or in decay. There are a total of 10 sunspot groups adorning the solar disk today.

AR 14143 continues to grow as it makes a unique ring-shaped structure.	Except for a single optical sub-flare from AR 14139, AR 14143 was the only region in this zone of the Sun that was active.
AR 14142 seems to be growing and is accompanied by several much smaller groups.	All is quiet in this part of the Sun except for 14142 which has been the source, along with 14143, of much of today’s activity.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance of M-class flares, through 18 July.

July 15,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels. The largest flare yesterday, 14 July, was a C4.5 at 17:06 UT from AR 14141. The largest (and one of only two C-class flares so far today) was a C2.4 from AR 14142 at 17:07. This region produced many optical sub-flares today but nothing of any significance so far (as of 20:25 UT today. ARs 14139, 14142, and 14143 have each grown slightly, while the remainder were either stable or in decay.

The 65 degree long filament that was, earlier this week, nicknamed “the beast” on the limb of the Sun, was observed lifting off the solar disk from the northeast quadrant at 5:30 UT yesterday, the 14th. The CME from this event was observed at 7:48 UT and is not expected to impact Earth at this time.

Spotted active regions (labeled) continue to march across the Sun’s disk.	This zone of the Sun has been quiet for the last two days or so.
More spotted active regions are emerging and rotating into view.	AR 14142 (just left of center) is the only region with any activity so far today.

Solar activity is expected to be low with an increasing chance of M-class flares through 17 July.

July 14,2025

Solar activity remains low, with only C-class flare activity going on. The largest of these over the last two days was a C8.9 at 21:50 UT on 13 July from AR 14141. AR 14142 emerged over the last 24 hours and produced several C-class flares yesterday and today. The remaining six active regions were mainly quiet and unchanging, with the exception of AR 14138, which has grown a bit. AR 14141 is about to rotate out of view. Most of the remaining active regions on the visible solar disk are capable of producing M-class flares.

Visible active regions (labeled) in the western half of the solar disk.	The view shifts east a bit to include a larger active region, AR 14136.
More regions are visible in this continuum image centered on the disk center of the Sun.	The view shifts eastward to show the eastern limb of the Sun and some new regions coming into view (left center, AR 14142).

Solar activity is likely to be low to moderate, with a chance for M-class flares through 16 July.

July 11,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels. There were only C-class flares occurring today, the largest of which (in the last two days) was a C8.9 at 19:36 UT on 10 July from AR 14140 as it begins to rotate into view. This same region was the source of most of the flaring activity yesterday. ARs 14136, 14137,14138, and 14139 contributed a fair share of low-level C-class flares and optical sub-flares. AR 14138 produced a C8.0 flare at 17:09 UT today, part of which was observed during today’s session.

AR 14136 has grown slightly, while AR 14137 decayed some. New spots emerged and became AR’s 14138 and 14139. A 10 degree filament lifted off from the northwest quadrant (just northwest of disk center) at approximately 2:29 UT early today. This produced a CME which is not expected to reach Earth.

The western part of the solar disk is largely spotless, with AR 14137 (top center) and 14138 (upper left, on edge of image) the only significant regions visible.	There has been some activity from this part of the Sun in the form of low-level C-class and optical sub-flares, all from AR 14138.
ARs 14138 and 14139 emerged onto the solar disk in the last 24 hours, while 14135 and 14136 remain stable.	Four active regions, with AR 14138 in flare (upper right). This was the view six minutes after the flare’s optical peak.
The view shifts slightly to include the new AR 14140 rotating into view.	So far, AR 14140 does not look like much in this image, but it has been the source of a number of flares today.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares (due to AR 14136 and 14140), through 13 July.

July 10,2025

Solar activity remains low with only low level C-class flaring occurring, from ARs 14135, 14136, and another region just over the ESE limb. This hidden region is possibly old AR 14117, about to make a second pass across the visible solar disk. The largest flares were a C3.8 from off the ESE limb today at 6:42 UT, and a C3.9 from AR 14130 at 18:04 UT today. A filament erupted yesterday, 9 July, at 5:24 UT and generated a pair of CMEs, which appeared to merge as they headed away from the Sun. This mass of charged particles is expected to miss the Earth.

Later in the day, a C8.9 flare event (the largest today so far) peaked at 19:36 UT today from an undisclosed location, possibly the new active region about to rotate into view over the ESE limb.

AR 14137 emerged within the last 24 hours. The three regions labeled at the bottom are in decay and about to rotate out of view.	The main regions that show up in this image are AR 14137 (top) and 14130 (lower right, bright areas).
AR 14136 (top) and 14135 (bottom) are rotating into better view. The latter seems to be in decay.	Two AR’s are easily visible, with a third revealing its presence as bumps in the lower left part of this image.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares (due to AR 14136), through 12 July.

July 7,2025

Solar activity was (and has been) low, with only low-level C-class activity happening. Over the last week, the larges event was a C2.4 on 4 July–until today when, at the time of this writing, a c2.9 just peaked from AR 14125 (based on GONG images at 19:26 UT). AR 14127 is growing slightly, while the remaining five visible spotted active regions are either stable or in decay.

There had been many filaments on the visible solar disk the last two weeks or so. One of these, near N35 E05 (the north central solar disk) lifted off beginning around 1:00 UTC today, 7 July. This event produced a CME which became visible to the SOHO LASCO C2 camera at 3:12UT. This CME is expected to miss Earth.

The top row of images are red continuum images, each 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky, and 0.25 second exposures. Then the skies clouded up for two hours before allowing the bottom two H-alpha images to be obtained. Each of these is a 0.5 second exposure and covers 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.


	These images illustrate how quiet the Sun is today. The H-alpha images include AR 14135, which just rotated into view. The other regions are labeled above. The single spot in the first image is AR 14125.

Solar activity is expected to remain low through at least 9 July.

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June 17,2025

Solar activity started at moderate levels but returned to low levels. There was an M1.1 flare that peaked at 14:55 UT on 16 June. There were also some C-class flares, including a C9.9 from beyond the east limb at 6:21 UT on 17 June. A C5.5 flare at 0:21 UT on 17 June produced a CME that may give a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field early on June 20.

Solar activity jumped to high levels with an X1.2/2B flare from AR 14114 which peaked at 21:49 UT, which was imaged in its entirety at the Observatory. The optical peak was two minutes earlier. This may have triggered an M2.2 at 14115 at 22:05, an example of sympathetic flaring.

The complex of AR’s continues their march across the solar disk. The white spots in the upper and upper right are artefacts of processing.	Aside from occasional optical sub-flares, this area of the Sun had been quiet for most of the day, until the X1.2 flare event of later in the afternoon (image below).
This part of the Sun is very quiet, but a new active region (arrowed) has started to rotate into view. This was the source of several C-class flares today and yesterday.	The new active region (the bump on the left edge of the Sun) appears as an elongated white spot in H-alpha imagery.

The next images show the X1.2 flare from AR 14114 near its X-ray maximum (left image), then the secondary M2.2/SF from AR 14115 (right image, the left hook-shaped glow).

Today’s X1.2 flare (bright splotches) near its X-ray maximum.

As the X1.2 event decayed, a second event (upper left) occurred, which may have been triggered by the larger event.

Solar activity is expected to be moderate with a chance for X-class flares through 19 June.

June 16,2025

Solar activity has reached high levels because of several M-class flares. AR 14105 produced a C6.5/SF event at 1:48 UT today from just over the western solar horizon. AR 14105 started becoming more active late on 13 June with an M1.2 at 21:10 UT. Then on the 14th, AR 14105 produced an M1 at 18:04 UT followed by an M6.8 at 23:01. There were a pair of lower level M-class flares, an M2.2 at 7:56 UT and an M1.8 at 10:26UT, both on 15 June (no source region information immediately available). Then AR 14114 became active and produced an M8.4/1B at 18:07 UT on 15 June, followed by an M6.5/1B at 9:38 UT today.

AR 14114 grew considerably over the weekend and became a complex active region in both spot configuration and magnetic complexity. It was responsible for most of the activity today. AR 14114 could become more complex in the next day or so. All of the rest of the spotted active regions on the visible disk were quiet and stable.

AR 14110 is in the process of rotating out of view.	Aside from the activity from AR 14105 (which just rotated out of view), this zone has been generally quiet.
The main focus of activity is AR 14114, which dominates this group of active regions.	This zone of the Sun had been quiet, with only optical sub-flares and C-class flares, during our monitoring of this region today.

Solar activity is expected to be moderate with a chance for X-class flares through 18 June.

June 13,2025

Solar activity continues at low levels, but several new groups have appeared since the last observing session three days ago. C-class flares came from AR’s 14105, 14017, and 14115, the largest of these was a C5.8/1F flare at 17:48 UT on 12 June. C-class flares and optical sub-flares came from AR’s 14105, 14110, and 14114 today through 19:45 UT, then AR 14105 broke a nearly 9 day string of no M-class flares with an M1.2/1F that peaked at 21:10 UT today. Each of the eight visible active regions were mostly stable.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.50 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images (line-center), each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

The regions we’ve followed earlier this week are now about to rotate out of view.	AR 14105 and 14110 are the most active on the visible disk currently and have been the source of several minor flares.
A new batch of active regions rotates into view.	This part of the Sun has been mainly quiet aside from a few minor events from AR 14114.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for isolated M-class flares through 15 June. This is due to the combined flare probabilities of ARs 14105, 14107, and 14114.

June 10,2025

Solar activity continues to be low. AR 14105 was the region with the most flaring yesterday producing B- and C-class flares. Then today, AR 14107, which is growing and produced nearly all the flares today, including a C5.5 flare at 10:52 UT. Solar activity was at low levels. The region with the most flaring was AR 14107, which produced 10 c-class flares (including the C5.5) between 3:00 and 11:00 UT today. AR 14105 was much quieter, with only two B-class flares and an optical sub-flare. Everything else was quiet on the visible solar disk today.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

One batch of sunspot groups resides in the southwestern quarter of the solar disk.	Nearly all of today’s minor flare activity came from this area of the Sun.
AR 14111 rotates into better view, with another unnumbered spot following (on the solar edge).	This zone of the Sun was entirely quiet, except for two optical sub-flares from AR 14111 early today.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a slight chance for M-class flares through 12 June.

June 9,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. Since 6 June, the Sun had been quiet, with only low-level C-class flares (2 C4 events on 6 June, 1 C3 on 7 June, and only low level events of decreasing frequency yesterday and today). The larges event yesterday and today was a C1.8 from AR 14105. AR 14111 rotated into view and 14110 emerged west of 14111, and both of these were quiet. Today, so far, there was only a C2.0 flare from AR 14105 and a C1.2 at 19:09 UT, the only events attributed to a region so far. All the regions are either stable or in slow decay.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

A collection of four small spot groups, the larges of which is 14105. Aside from an occasional C-class flare, this area of the Sun has been quiet.

The same view as the image immediately left, but in H-alpha, with the regions visible along with a short filament in the lower right corner.

AR 14111 (upper left) and 14110 (lower right) as seen in this image. Both regions remain quiet.

The same zone on the Sun as depicted immediately left, but shifted slightly southward to bring in AR 14105 (below right).

Solar activity is expected to be low with a slight chance for M-class flares through 11 June.

June 6,2025

Solar activity continued at low levels today. AR 14105 continues to produce frequent C-class flares, 8 so far today (through 19:30 UT today), the largest of which, today, was a C4.5 that was observed briefly at the Observatory. This event peaked at 17:02 UT. AR 14100 produced two C-class flares today as it prepares to rotate out of view. AR 14107 emerged yesterday west of 14106 and has grown slightly today. AR 14105 grew slowly, as did 14107; the rest of the visible sunspot groups on the disk were in slow decay. ARs 14100 and 14099 are in the process of rotating over the western solar limb.

Each of the images immediately below cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

ARs 14100 and 14099 are rotating out of view and getting more difficult to see. AR 14106 (upper left) is in slow decay.	The three regions are more difficult to spot in H-alpha as they blend in with the general texture.
AR 14105 (center) and 14107 (right) are visible in this image. The former is slowly growing.	AR 14105 appears rather active in this H-alpha image. It was the source of many C-class flares today.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for M-class flares through 8 June.

June 5,2025

Solar activity briefly touched moderate levels late yesterday with an M1.1 flare from AR 14100 at 23:28 UT on 4 June. This was the largest event of yesterday and today (through 20:35 UT). The last M-class flare was an M1.4 from the same region at 13:00 UT on 3 June. AR 14100 and 14099 both decayed some, while AR 14104 decayed completely to plage. Although the solar region summary indicated that AR 14101 had one spot, it was not visible during this morning’s visual sunspot count. AR 14106 emerged yesterday as a small cluster of spots near the disk center, and AR 14105 continues to rotate into better view. AR 14100 produced three low-level C-class flare early today, while AR 14099 and 14101 each produced one C3 early today. All of this activity happened before 14:00 UT. Then at 14:39 UT today, AR 14105 produced a C1.8, which was followed by a C8.7.

The C8.7 flare was an interesting long-duration event that was caught by our camera while the flare was intensifying, about five minutes prior to X-ray maximum. The event started as the X-ray level rose above C1.0 at 15:35 UT, peaked at C8.7, declined slowly, then intensified slowly again, achieving a secondary peak of C5.7 at 17:12 UT. Finally, the X-ray level decayed back to C1.0 at 19:22 UT, nearly four hours after the event started.

Each of the images in the first row spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. Each of the ones on the second row cover 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14100 (top) and 14099 (bottom) are about to rotate out of view. AR 14101, which is right and below 14100; and 14104, which is directly left of 14100; have lost their spots.	This was the most active zone on the Sun prior to 14:00 UT today before these regions quieted down and AR 14105 became activated. AR 14099 stands out due to bright plage.
AR 14105 (lower left) and newly-emerged 14106 (upper right) grace what would otherwise be a bland part of the Sun. A single spot is visible directly right of 14106, which may be a new active region emerging.	This image was taken near the X-ray peak of today’s largest event (up to 20:55 UT today), the C8.7 flare. The optical part was rated a “sub-flare, faint” and peaked at 15:40 UT.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares through 7 June.

June 3,2025

Solar activity is moderate due to a pair of M-class flares. One of these came from AR 14100 yesterday at 21:42 UT; another from AR 14105 that just rotated into view. The second M-flare was a long-duration (M1.4) event that peaked today at 13:03 UT. The C9.3 flare from yesterday at 21:00 likely came from AR 14105 just before it rotated into view. Slight decay occurred in AR’s 14099 and 14100; AR’s 14101 and 14104 also appear to have decayed some, while AR 14096 rotated over the west limb.

Each of the images in the first row spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. Each of the ones on the second row cover 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. Each image is a 0.5 second exposure. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14100 (above center) remains the largest visible spotted region, with 14099 directly below it second largest. AR 14101 (lower right of 14100) and 14104 (directly left of 14100) remain visible but are in decay.	This zone of the Sun has been mainly quiet today, with only optical sub-flares occurring. We observed a C2.8/SF from 14100, peaking at 15:10 UT.
This region, AR 14105, just appeared over the eastern limb this morning. Otherwise, the Sun seems to be clearing itself of spots currently.	AR 14105 was the source of most of today’s activity so far: one M1.4 flare and 5 low-level C-class flares. It appears as a bright spot on the edge of the Sun above center.

Solar activity is likely to be moderate with a slight chance of X-class flares through 5 June. The primary source of this activity is likely to be AR 14100.

June 2,2025

Solar activity reached moderate levels early today. There was an M3.3/2B flare from AR 14100 at 11:18 UT, the strongest of yesterday and today (so far). This region is slowly decaying and the other four regions are only little changed. The five regions are mostly on the western half of the Sun with nothing spotted on the eastern half (except for 12404). A long-duration C9.2 flare that peaked this afternoon at 21:00 UT appears to have come from behind the eastern limb, signaling the imminent appearance of another active region. AR 14100 also produced a C1.7 at 14:57 UT today and an M1.1 at 21:42 UT today (after we had closed the observatory for the day). All the other regions were quiet.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first image is a red continuum image, 0.25 second exposure. The second is an H-alpha images, 0.5 second exposure. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

All five of the currently visible active regions are displayed here, with AR 14096 about to rotate out of view.

All five of the active regions on the Earth facing solar hemisphere are seen here. Most of the activity came from AR 14100.

Moderate solar activity is likely with a fair chance of M-class flares and a slight chance for an isolated X-class flare through 4 June.

May 29,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. The largest flare so far today was a C7.0 from AR 14100 at 3:01 UT today; it also produced a B9.8 two-and-a-half hours earlier. There were a handful of low-level C-class flares from 14100 more recently 18:00 – 19:00 UT today) but all is quiet otherwise.

AR 14096 (top) and 14092 (lower right) remain quiet as they approach the western limb.	The same regions depicted in the image immediately left are shown here also.
AR 14100 (top center), 14099 (bottom center) and 14101 (right of center) in continuum light.	Three active regions and at least five filaments are visible in this emission line image.

Solar activity is expected to remain low, with a chance for M-class flares, and a slight chance for X-class flares, through 31 May. The combined probability of an M-class flare from AR’s 14099 and 14100 is 50%.

May 28,2025

From late 24 May through the end of 26 May, solar activity reached high levels, peaking with an X1.1 at 1:50 UT from AR 14098 on 25 May and an M8.9 at 16:30 UT, also from AR 14098 on 25 May. The region then decayed and quieted down. Currently, solar activity has been low with the largest flare from yesterday and today being a long-duration C5.0/sf at 10:11 UTC yesterday the 27th from AR 14100. This region is the return of AR 14079, which was the return of 14055 which emerged and developed rapidly in April before rotating out of view. Parts of the current AR 14100 is showing some growth, but the only events that have happened yesterday and today were low-level C-class flares. In fact, AR’s 14099 and 14100 were about equally responsible for the flares today. AR 14099 is also growing slightly. These two rotated into view three days ago.

Each of the images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Various spotted and un-spotted regions are labeled in this image.	This part of the Sun has been quiet the last few days.
The two largest active regions on the visible disk were the source of all the small flares today.	AR 14101 (below and right from 14100) emerged yesterday. This area of the Sun also features many filaments.

M-class flares continue to be likely, with a slight chance for X-class flares, through 30 May.

May 19,2025

Solar activity briefly reached moderate (R1-Minor) levels after an impulsive M3.1 flare today at 8:21 UT. This came from a region just over the ENE limb of the Sun. Activity has then returned to very low levels. Prior to this flare, only low-level C-class flares occurred. AR 14087 is losing spots (only three this morning) but it maintains a degree of complex magnetic activity. All the other regions were stable or in slow decay.

The filament we had been watching last week, which had rotated into the north central quadrant of the solar disk, lifted off the disk between 21:00 UT on 18 May and 1:00 UT on 19 May. This produced a CME which should skim the Earth’s magnetic field by 23 May.

Each image below covers 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky and is a 0.5 second exposure The first image is a red continuum image; the other two are H-alpha line center images. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Four of the five visible active regions are seen in this image. All of the regions shown here, except for 14087, are small and simple.

Same view as on the left, but in H-alpha. A filament lies in the midst of these regions.

The view shifts eastward to show the new AR 14092 near the limb of the Sun. AR 14090 and 14901 are toward the lower right.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares, through 21 May. Flare probabilities may increase starting 20 May if the active region that produced today’s M3 flare rotates into view and remains active.

May 16,2025

Solar activity has returned to low levels. The last M-class flare was an M2.1/1F at 17:21 UT on 15 May. Since then there had been only low-level C-class flares (except for the near-M flare, a C9.6 that happened five hours after the M2 flare). There has been little growth in AR 14087, in fact it seems to have decayed somewhat. The region only produced four low-level C-class flares today (and two B-class flares as the X-ray background has dropped well below C-level for the first time in a while). AR 14088 was mostly inactive; ARs 14089 and 14090 rotated into view and contributed some minor C-class flare activity. Altogether there are four spotted active regions visible on the Solar disk.

Each of the images spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.5 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14088 (the single spot near the edge of the Sun below and right of image center) is about to rotate out of view.	AR 14088 is essentially hidden in the H-alpha texture, but a dark filament is visible to its east. This part of the sun has been quiet.
AR 14087 is at top right, AR 14089 is top center, and 14090 is lower left.	This part of the Sun had been active but the activity is now reduced to low-level C-class flares and B-class enhancements.

Solar activity is likely to be low to moderate, with a slight chance for an M-class flare, through 19 May.

May 15,2025

Solar activity continues at moderate levels. The overall trend in activity is downward as there had been no further M-class or X-class activity since yesterday’s M4 flare, until this afternoon’s M2 flare from AR 14087 at 17:21 UT. The region had produced many low-level C-class events today, and another near-M-class event: a C9.6 at 22:19 UT. AR 14087 continues to maintain a complex magnetic profile but has been less active. AR 14088, nearing the western limb, grew but was quiet; AR 14082 is rotating out of view.

AR 14087 comes into better view, carried along by the Sun’s rotation.	This region has been where nearly all the significant solar events have taken place.
This part of the Sun appears almost blank as AR 14082 is right on the limb (below bottom edge of this picture). AR 14088 (right of center) has increased a bit in size.	AR 14088 appears as a slight brightening right of center. A fairly dark filament is visible along the left edge of the image.

NOAA-SWPC has given AR 14087 a 65% chance of producing an M-class flare, and a 30% chance for an X-class flare from 15 to 17 May.

May 14,2025

Solar activity was at high levels with an X1.2/1B flare yesterday at 15:38 UT (observed at PVSO), then an M5.3/SN flare at 3:25 UT on 14 May, then a multi-peaked X2.7/2B flare at 8:25 UT today. Thes events each produced coronal mass ejections, but each ejection was directed well ahead of or behind the Earth in its orbit. Then AR 14087 produced an M7.7 flare at 11:19 UT today. Later in the day, the region produced an M4.7 flare at 18:11 UT, the entire event was documented in images at PVSO (see image immediately below). In addition to these major events, AR 14087 produced a large number of C-class flares.

Each of the images (including the one above) spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.5 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14087 (lower right) is about to rotate out of view. Barely visible top center is newly emerged AR 14088.	Two filaments accompany the two tiny active regions in this zone of the Sun. This part has been quiet and stable.
AR 14087 appears as two large spots on the solar surface.	A large filament is situated north west of the large spot pair/group (14087).

Solar activity is expected to be moderate with a chance for X-flares through 16 May

May 13,2025

Solar activity briefly spiked to high levels with a surprise, impulsive X1.2 flare from departing AR 14086. This was the first X-class flare since 28 March 2025 and came as a surprise, since there was less than a 1% probability of an X-class flare occurring currently. The flare caused a brief short-wave radio blackout over the Americas, launched a CME into space, and is bathing the Earth in protons as of this writing (21:22 UT). The protons are being guided by what is called the Parker Spiral, a magnetic connection between the Sun’s western limb and the Earth’s magnetic field. This is expected to intensify in the near term.

We caught the flare just before it reached its X-ray peak (15:38) and it’s optical peak (15:39). We then followed the area through the flare decay and watched further limb activity associated with this event through 16:00. Prior to this, solar activity had been at low levels, with only five small spotted active regions visible on the solar disk. AR 14087 produced some C-class solar flares yesterday, and a B9.9 event this afternoon. AR 14086 had grown some, then decayed some more while maintaining a simple structure overall. All the other regions were quiet and simple in magnetic structure.

Each of the PVSO images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky, unless otherwise indicated. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image. The middle row contains a NASA/SDO extreme UV animation of the flare (left) and a close-up of the flare region (right), in H-alpha.

AR 14085 (upper left), 14086 (right, on solar limb) and 14082 (single spot lower right). It’s been mainly quiet in this part of the Sun.	It was quiet until AR 14086 produced the X1.2/1B flare, seen here near its peak.
Click on the image for the animation.	Closeup of the X1 flare with associated structures.
AR 14087 is rotating into better view.	AR 14087 has been quiet all day today.

Solar activity is likely to remain low, with a slight chance of an isolated M-class flare from AR 14087 through 15 May.

May 12,2025

There was a brief uptick of solar activity to moderate levels with an impulsive M7.9 flare produced by departing AR 14079 at 0:01 UT on 12 May, from just over the west limb. Since this event, solar activity has returned to low levels. AR 14086 has grown a bit, with the other visible regions decayed somewhat. A new region, AR 14087, is rotating into view over the eastern limb and it produced a C2.7 flare today at 15:02 UT. A filament started lifting off the Sun beginning around 9:00 UTC today. It was in the process of lifting off at 11:27 UT. Only traces of it remained on the surface by the time of our observations this afternoon.

Only small active regions remain visible now.	A few filaments are also visible.
A new AR along with some old faculae (bottom left) have rotated into view.	This part of the Sun is mostly quiet, as is the rest of the solar disk.

Solar activity is expected to be low through 14 May

May 9,2025

Low solar activity continues. AR 14082 produced a C7.1 at 14:54 UTC yesterday, 8 May. This was the strongest flare of yesterday and today (through 21:35 UT). AR 14082 only produced one flare today, a C1.0 at 6:19 UT. This region is decaying in the trailing spots: only two tiny trailing spots along with the single round leader remains visible. AR 14079 produced frequent low-level C-class flare activity yesterday and today (six such events today so far, the largest of which was a C4.9 at 11:21 UT). This region remained stable as it prepares to rotate out of view. AR 14081 and 14084 were in slight decay or stable, respectively. There are quite a few filaments visible on the solar disk today.

Each of the images in the first row below cover 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky; each in the second row cover 13.8’x18.0′. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.5 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14079 (right) and 14081 (center) approach the solar edge.	AR 14079 is distinguished by its large “mane” of plage. Note the large filament at bottom just right of center (curve gray feature).
This zone of the Sun is getting very barren and quiet. AR 14084 (left) and 14082 (right) are imaged here.	There are quite a few more filaments than sunspot groups visible in this part of the sun. All these are quiet and stable.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares through 11 May.

May 8,2025

Low solar activity continues with the second strongest flare so far today being a C7.0/SF at 11:41 UT today from AR 14082. This was slightly exceeded by a C7.0/1N flare from the same region at 15:00 UT, the tail end of which we observed. AR 14079 continues to produced numerous weak C-class flares and has shown some signs of decay. AR 14081 showed some minor growth, as has 14082. AR 14084 rotated into view and produced C-class flare activity.

Two filaments erupted yesterday early on. The first was one from the NW limb between 9:00 and 10:00 UT; this generated a fast moving CME that was observed by SOHO starting at 9:24 UT. This will miss Earth by a far margin. The second eruption was off the NE disk from about 11:16 to 13:48 UT, with the SOHO satellite observing a CME starting at 11:25 UT. This debris will also miss Earth by a wide margin.

Each of the images immediately below are 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14081 (center) and 14079 (lower right) are two of four spotted active regions currently visible on the Sun’s disk.	AR 14079 has so far produced four C-class flares up to 21:45 UT. AR 14081 has been quiet all day.
The other two active regions visible on the solar disk are AR 14084 (left) and 14082 (right).	The filament observed to be a bit active (below and right of image center) is still there today. AR 14082 produced 3 C-class flares so far today.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares through 10 May.

May 7,2025

Solar activity remains low. AR 14079 continues to be the dominant region on the Sun but has not produced the expected large flare so far. It produced the largest flare of yesterday and today (so far as of 21:50 UT), an impulsive C4.5 at 17:07 UT on 6 May. A filament erupted near the south central solar disk happened at the same time and launched a narrow CME. A second filament launched more slowly from the northwest part of the solar disk, and there is still a third active filament in the far NW part of the disk (pictured in the previous entry from May 4). AR 14079 produced numerous small C-class flares today. There were a total of three spotted regions visible on the solar disk today, with a fourth, small group rotating into view just south of the solar equator on the eastern limb.

AR 14079 (right) and 14081 (left) continue to march across the solar disk, carried along by the Sun’s rotation.	AR 14079 has produced 10 low-level C-class flares today, the largest of which was a C4.0 at 2:52 UT today. AR 14081 has been quiet.
AR 14082 (the only visible spotted group). The thin streak below this region is real: it is the blue-shifted component of a filament that is moving and may lift off soon.	AR 14082 was the source of at least one low-level C-class flare and an optical subflare. The filament fragment below and left of it was over four times longer than now as recently as 9:03 UT today. Most of this has disappeared.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares through 9 May.

May 4,2025

Solar activity was low. AR 14079 continues to be the dominant region on the Sun but several new regions have emerged. AR 14080 emerged south and west of 14076 and rotated out of view. AR 14081 emerged east of 14079, and AR 14082 has emerged in the southern hemisphere near the eastern limb. AR 14079 only produced one C1.3 event today so far, but newly emerged AR 14082 produced four low-level C-class flares today. AR 14081 produced one C1 flare early today. AR 14079 was largely unchanged today, as was AR 14076. AR’s 14081 and 14082 have grown.

Each of the top row of images spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky; each of the bottom row covers 13.8’x18.0′. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

The lone spot in this zone of the Sun prepares to rotate out of view.	This zone of the Sun appears quiet in H-alpha, with little activity currently occurring.
AR 14079 (right) is trailed by 14081 (above center) and 14082 (left).	All three of these active regions have contributed low-level C-class flares.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares through 7 May.

May 3,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels. AR 14079 produced most of the C-class flare activity yesterday and today and continues to grow. The flares it produced were mainly C1 and C2 level events. AR 14078 was stable and quiet and continues to be such today.

Each of the images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky, unless otherwise indicated. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14076 and a spotless 14075 (the white area just right of bottom center) are visible here. This image is 13.8’x13.8′.	The view is shifted north some to include part of a large filament residing in the northwest quadrant of the solar disk. Otherwise, this area of the solar disk continues to be quiet.
AR 14079 (lower right) and emerging AR 14081 (small spots below and left of image center) are seen here.	The view shifts to include a large filament in the northwest quadrant of the solar disk, along with another north of AR 14079.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares through 5 May.

May 1,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. Five spotted active regions remain on the visible disk but three of them are becoming harder to see visually as they continue to slowly decay and/or rotate out of view. AR 14076 remains as only as simple single spot, with a very thin light bridge across the central umbra. Two spotted groups are about to rotate out of view. The dominant region, AR 14079, continues to produce a few low-level C-class flares, even with its size and magnetic complexity.

Each of the images spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Four spotted regions and one spotless region (14073) are seen here. AR 14078 has a single well-hidden spot and 14070 is a small cluster of tiny spots.	This zone of the Sun continues to be quiet, with only the small decaying active regions and a number of filaments visible.
AR 14079 is the dominant spot, with an area of 1040 MSH.	The bright plage (white areas) are featured here as is a filament (right).

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares through 3 May.

April 30,2025

Solar activity remained at moderate levels with an M2.0 flare (the largest in a while) coming from AR 14079 at 7:51 UT today. This region is a large sunspot group with a complex magnetic configuration. AR 14070 decayed some and 14072 grew a bit, but both were quiet as were the remaining active regions. There is a downward trend in numbers of groups and sizes of groups over the last several days; there were eight spotted active regions on the Sun on 28 April, six yesterday (29 April), then four today.

The images in the top row each span 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The images in the bottom row are 13.8’x13.8′. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14070 (right of center near sun’s edge) prepares to rotate out of view. AR 14072 (left of center) seems to be decaying overall.	This zone of the Sun was quiet all day long, with no flare events reported so far.
The true size and nature of AR14079 is becoming clearer as it rotates into better view.	This region has produced all the reported flares so far today: one M2 flare and four low-level C-class flares.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance of M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares through 2 May.

April 29,2025

Solar activity became moderate with several low-level M-class flares. There was an M1.7 from AR 14079, at 5:13 UT today. AR 14070 is decaying somewhat, 14072 is growing somewhat, but was quiet, AR 14078 developed and produced an M1.3 flare at 10:02 UT today and an M1.6 at 10:57 UT today. Since these events, only C-class events occurred, coming from AR’s 14070, 14075, and 14079; AR 14077 produced a few optical sub-flares.

These regions continue to be mainly quiet as they approach the solar limb.	AR 14070 was the most active of these three regions, producing three C-class flares.
AR 14079 is seen in the upper left corner, with 14076 near the right edge of the image.	AR 14079 was one of the more active sunspot groups today, along with AR 14078.

A surging prominence was observed on the southwest limb for about 15 minutes before dissipating. Each of the below images of this event were 0.5 second exposures and cover 11.5’x9.7′ on the sky.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a slight chance of M-class flares through 1 May.

April 28,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. Eight spotted active regions are visible on the solar disk, including large AR 14079, just rotating into view over the eastern limb. This is the return of old AR 14055, which was tracked as it rotated across the far side of the Sun and has now been brought back to Earthly view. It produced the largest flare in several days: a C3.2 at 21:52 UT today. We were monitoring a simultaneous flare at AR 14077 which boosted the X-ray peak a bit. AR 14070 produced a C1.4/SF flare at 17:24 UT, 27 April. This region is growing some. AR 14064 produced a C2.1 flare at 18:49 UT yesterday and this one is decaying a bit as it readies to rotate out of view. AR 14069 decayed to a spotless region but that did not stop it from producing a C2.2 flare at 6:02 UT today. The remaining sunspot groups were all unremarkable.

Four small active regions, with the fifth (AR 14065) just out of view near bottom center.	Thin cirrostratus clouds diluted the view in H-alpha but several filaments are visible in this image.
A large spot group is coming into view in the upper left, the return of AR 14055. Other smaller regions are visible here.	The cirrostratus has thickened a bit for this image, making H-alpha details less distinct. The bright spot bottom center is a low-level C-class flare.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a slight chance of M-class flares through 30 April.

April 24,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. Only low-level C-class flaring continues. There are thirteen spotted active regions on the solar disk, both large and small, and the ones near the disk center have been the largest and most magnetically complex. These C-flares have come from these regions. AR 14064 remains the largest spot group on the visible disk and was the source of a C2.4 flare at 14:34 UT today, followed by a C2.0 at 15:41 UT today (while the clouds continued to cover most of the sky at the Observatory). There had been some growth in this region over the last day or so. Altogether, AR’s 14064, 14067, and 14070 were the ones who produced the flares today.

Lots of labeled active regions are seen in this image just west of the Sun’s disk center. AR 14066 is a spotless region.	Two of the three regions in this frame, AR 14064 and 14070, produced a few weak C-class flares today.
More regions are shown, including two more groups that have just rotated into view.	This view is shifted northward from the previous frame. AR 14073 appears near top center, and AR 14076 is rotating into view upper left.

Solar activity is expected to be moderate, with a chance of M-class flares from 24 to 27 April.

April 23,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels. Only low level C-class flaring activity has happened over the last two days. Most of the 9 visible spotted active regions on the solar disk are magnetically simple. AR 14069 has experienced a fairly rapid rate of magnetic flux emergence and has taken on the appearance of a flattened ring. The region has been quiet so far but does have the potential for further development. There were four low level C-class flares today so far, from AR’s 4064 and 4070.

These active regions remain mostly quiet, although AR 14064 appears to be growing some.	This zone of the Sun, near disk center, has seen some minor activity. AR 14069 shows the decay of a minor optical subflare.
These regions also appear rather quiet and simple.	In addition to the spotted regions, some small filaments are also visible on this part of the solar disk.

Solar activity is expected to be moderate, with a chance of M-class flares from 23 to 25 April.

April 22,2025

Solar activity was at moderate levels early but has returned to low levels today. There was a long duration M1.3 flare from a location beyond the western solar limb at 10:48 UT today. Low level C-class activity occurred from AR’s 4062, 4063, and 4064. An unspecified source produced a C9.9 at 1:00 UT today. Since yesterday, four more spotted active regions emerged on the solar disk, all in the southern solar hemisphere. ARs 14069 and 14070 were among these and showed continued growth. AR 14062 and 14064 showed some decay in parts of these regions. Otherwise everything else is mainly quiet and stable.

Five spotted active regions pepper the center of the Sun’s disk today.	The view shifts south to include AR 14065 (single spot lower left).
Four regions including some newly emerged flux is visible in this image. Yet another spot is just appearing on the eastern solar limb (near the top, un-labeled).	This zone of the Sun appears mainly quiet in H-alpha. The regions toward the left (14070 and 14068) were sites of some very minor flaring activity during today’s observing session.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance of M-class flares from 22 to 24 April.

April 21,2025

Solar activity is at moderate levels today. AR 14068 rotated onto the solar disk yesterday and produced an M1.0 flare at 12:11 UT on 20 April. This was the first M-class flare since an M4.4 that occurred at 23:50 UT on 18 April. Then AR 14062 produced an impulsive M1.9 flare today at 18:37 UT (after this morning’s observation session. Only minor changes have occurred in the visible active regions over the last two days. AR 14064 produced a C3.9/SF at 0:31 UT today, and AR 14063 produced a C2.1 flare at 6:42 UT today.

ARs 14060 and 14063 have decayed since last week and are about to rotate out of view.	AR 14063 appears to have some residual activity as evidenced by the bright plage (below right, brighter patch). AR 14062 is visible at left.
Five active regions continue to make their way across the disk of the Sun, carried along by the Sun’s rotation.	These five active regions have been mainly quiet today. AR 14062 (right of center) was the source of an M1 flare this afternoon.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance of M-class flares from 21 to 23 April.

April 17,2025

Solar activity remains at low level with only minor C-class activity. AR 14062 produced most of this activity early today and yesterday, including two of the four documented C-class flares today. AR 14064 produced the largest flare for today so far (as of 23:35 UT), a C4.6 at 14:22 UT. AR 14060 also produced a C1 flare. AR 14062 is also the most complicated region on the visible solar disk today. The other six active regions were unremarkable.

This part of the Sun is mostly quiet. AR 14056 (lower right near the edge) is about to rotate out of view AR 14060 (top center) seems to be decaying.	Cirrus clouds were starting to move in when this image was taken so the contrast is reduced. This part of the Sun also appears quiet in H-alpha light.
AR 14064 (top) and 14062 (just left of center) are the most complex regions currently visible. Just left of 14062 is 14066, and 14065 is visible at the lower left corner.	A few filaments (upper right) remain. This part of the Sun is a bit more active than the rest of the Sun, but is still unremarkable.

There is an increasing chance for M-class flares (due to the increasing magnetic complexity of ARs 14062 and 14064) and a slight chance for X-class flares through 19 April.

April 16,2025

Solar activity drop from moderate levels to low levels. The most recent M-class flare was an M1.3 at 18:13 UT on 15 April from AR 14055 from over the western solar horizon. This region also produced a C8.1 at 4:39 UT, 16 April. Since the C8, there had only been three further low-level (c1 to c2) flares, one of which came from AR 14062. As of 23:05 UT today, no further M-class flares have occurred. AR 14060 has progressed to the western half of the solar disk, carried along by the Sun’s rotation. The region was stable but showed some minor growth for a time yesterday. There are three un-numbered regions currently on the solar disk, in addition to three numbered regions. The largest of these is AR 14060, with 180 MSH of surface area. This is the same coverage as AR 14062.

AR 14060 appear at upper left. The whitish areas at upper right are what is left of now spotless region 14061; 14056 is visible at bottom, right of center.	Since the last C8 flare from (invisible) AR 14055, this part of the Sun has been very quiet. AR 14060 had been the source of at least one weak C-class flare today.
AR 14062 (largest region, left of center) is accompanied by newly numbered AR 14063 (single spot near right edge of image) and 14064 (above 14062, coming into view). One more spot (bottom, near solar limb) remains unnumbered.	This part of the Sun shows the potential to become more active, but for the time being it has been quiet. Several filaments continue to be seen here and across the rest of the northern solar

There is a chance for M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares from 16 to 18 April.

April 15,2025

Solar activity remains at moderate levels, with an M1.5 flare at 10:20 UT from AR 14055. An M1.3 flare occurred at 18:13 UT, also from AR 14055, which is no longer directly visible. It is situated just over the western limb of the Sun, but, in addition to the two M-class flares, was the source of two C-class flares early today. During today’s observing session, there were no observed structures in H-alpha associated with AR 14055 (there are typically surges and other elevated structures that signify the location of an active region just out of view). Another sunspot group, AR 14061 did grow a bit but quickly decayed again to only a handful of tiny spots. AR 14060 has grown just a bit but was quiet overall. AR 14062 rotated into view and has elevated the background X-ray flux level a bit but was otherwise quiet. A structure resembling a large active region just out of view (arrowed, last image below) appears to signify the imminent appearance of another large active region, which should come into view in a day or two.

AR 14060 is visible in part in the upper left part of the image; 14056 is the single spot bottom center. The arrow marks the approximate location of AR 14055 which has rotated out of view.	AR 14056 appears centered in this image. The arrow marks the approximate location of AR 14055 just over the limb. No elevated structures were seen associated with this active region.
AR 14062 (left) and 14060 (right) have mainly been quiet all day today.	The arrow points to a pair of “horns” that may be associated with another large active region about to rotate into view.

Solar activity is expected to remain at moderate levels (80% chance of M-class flares on 15 April) 15 -16 April, then return to low levels by 17 April.

April 14,2025

The Sun continued at high levels of activity through early today, as the frequent M-class flares continued, but became much less frequent. The last M-class flare so far today (as of 21:30 UT) was an M4.2 at 6:50 UT. This region is severely foreshortened on the limb so it is difficult to say what it is doing for certain. Another fairly large region at solar latitude 3 degrees south has rotated into view on the opposite limb. This and all the other active regions beside AR 14055 were stable and mostly unchanged.

Each of the top row images spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky; the bottom row images are 18.0’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.25 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14055 (right, on edge) is about to disappear over the limb. AR 14056 (left) is the single spot following it.	So far today, AR 14055 produced five C-class and two M-class flares. It was quiet during our one hour flare watch today.
AR 14061 (off the right edge of the image) appears to be in decay. AR 14060 is visible toward the right edge. A new AR is starting to come into view on the limb (left, center).	Aside from an extra filament (image center), this zone of the Sun has been quiet.

Solar activity is expected to return to moderate levels, with a slight chance for isolated X-class flares through 15 April. This changes to a slight chance for M-class flares on 16 April as AR 14055 rotates further over the solar limb.

April 12,2025

Solar activity reached high levels today due to frequent low-level M-class flares from AR 14055. The largest of these today was an M2.7 at 11:43 UT today. For the entire UT day of 12 April, AR 14055 produced 8 C-class and 7 M-class flares. AR 14060 added a sub-flare and a C5.6 flare; AR 14054 produced a single C4 event. AR 14055 had grown significantly in the last two days. There was slight growth in AR 14058, and the rest of the numbered regions remained about the same.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contains H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14055 (upper right) has grown significantly since two days ago (compare with 10 April image). AR 14056 is the single spot at upper left.	The plage in between the large spot groups of AR 14055 glow with the after glow of many flares. No significant activity was noted during today’s 1 hour flare watch.
AR 14060 (left) and 14061 (right) grace the northern hemisphere of the Sun.	Each of these two active regions remain quiet for today.

Solar activity is likely to remain at moderate levels, with M-class flares likely and a slight chance for X-class flares through 14 April, due to AR 14055 flare potential.

April 10,2025

The Sun continues to demonstrate low activity. AR 14055 had been the main source of solar flares for the last couple of days. So far today, it has produced three low-level C-class flares (the strongest was C3.2 at 6:28 UT). Departing AR 14045 produced a C3.7 at 16:51 UT (prior to this morning’s session) and AR 14060 produced two flares: a C2.3 at 4:50 UT today, and a C5.3 (today’s largest so far, through 23:00 UT) at 7:52 UT. AR 14055 is growing overall, the rest of the regions are small and simple.

Four AR’s approach the western solar limb, carried along by the Sun’s rotation.	Only AR 14055 (top center) has produced any significant activity in the last 48 hours.
New regions rotating into view. AR 14060 is a bit active.	Two of several filaments (the long, dark gray entities bottom center and below/left of center) are visible alongside the spotted regions.

Solar activity is expected to remain at low levels, with a chance for M-class flares from 10 to 12 April.

April 9,2025

Solar activity briefly touched moderate levels late yesterday with an M1.5/1B flare from AR 14048, prior to our late afternoon session. This region is decaying some as it prepares to rotate out of view. AR 14054 follows it along and has displayed some slight growth. AR 14058 continues to grow. Today’s activity included only C-class flares, the largest of which was a C9.0/1N flare from AR 1405 at 17:30 UT today. It was the source of most of the flares, with 14048 being the source of two earlier C-flares.

The X-ray flux has been showing a steady upward climb, rising then leveling, rising then leveling, since 21:00 UT. It has started rising again at 22:49 UT and as of this writing, appears to be leveling off again at C3.0 levels (23:00 UT). No obvious source of this is noted on the GONG H-alpha images.

From top to bottom: AR 14058, 14055, 14054, and 14048. AR 14046 is barely visible center right on edge of Sun.	The same zone and five active regions are visible in this line-center image.
A fairly large new active region is rotating into view, (top, near edge of sun). AR 15056 is the single spot just below and right of center.	The same zone and three active regions (and at least three filaments) are visible in this line-center image.

Solar activity is expected to remain at low levels, with a chance for M-class flares from 9 to 11 April.

April 8,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels with none of the “likely” M-class events materializing. The quiet persists through today (up to 22:00 UT), with only occasional, low-level C-class events occurring. AR 14057 produced a C3.0 flare (the largest of today, so far) earlier today at 6:03 UT. This generated a coronal mass ejection. There are eight visible spotted groups on the solar disk, seven of which are numbered.

This zone of the Sun is the most spotted, but these regions have been largely quiet today.	Some of these regions have begun to rotate out of view with others following.
This zone of the solar disk features only four small spotted regions.	A dark filament (upper left corner) is added to the scene in the light of H-alpha.

M-class flares continue to be likely, with a slight chance for X-class flares through 10 April.

April 7,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels, with only low-level C-class activity observed. The last day with M-class flares was 1 April, when there were two such events: M5.5 at 6:46 UT, and M2.4 at 22:31 UT. Since then, and through the time of this writing, there had only been low-level C-lcass flares. AR’s 14048 and 14054 are the most complex active regions on the visible solar disk and they are growing and evolving over time. The trailing end of 14048 appears to be an entirely new AR emerging, but it has not yet been designated as such. AR 14048 produced all five of the C-class solar flares observed today. The largest of these was a C5.3 at 15:36 UT (just before opening). No events were noted during our observing session today. The remaining solar active regions were either stable or in slow decay.

Another batch of active regions starts to approach the western limb.	AR 14048 is where all the activity has taken place today, so far (as of 20:55 UT).
This part of the Sun is much quieter. The rest of the sun (except the zone on the Sun shown in the top row) does not show spots.	This area of the Sun also shows a conspicuous lack of detail in H-alpha

M-class flares continue to be likely, with a slight chance for X-class flares through 9 April.

March 31,2025

Solar activity reached high levels yesterday due to the high number of M-class flares. Between 21:00 UT on 29 March and 10:30 UT on 31 March, there were 9 M-class flares. The largest of these was an M1.6 flare at 16:42UT on 30 March. This region was the source of an X1.1 flare that occurred at 15:19 UT on 28 March (when we usually observe, but it was cloudy), the first such flare in over a month. The last X-class flare was an X2 from AR 14001 at 19:27 UT on 23 February. There have been a total of five X-class solar flares in 2025 so far. The largest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 was an X9 on 3 January 2024.

The CME from the most recent X-flare event narrowly missed Earth. Had it impacted, it would have produced a major storm, comparable to those experienced 11 May 2024 and 11 October 2024. In the meantime, AR 14048 is growing, as is AR 14043, but the latter remained relatively quiet. AR 14044, 14046, and 14047 all showed growth. So fare AR 14048 produced the vast majority of the frequent C-class flares today, along with a single M1.2 at 10:24 UT. AR 14046 contributed a handful of events today. Apart from these two, the rest of the active regions were unremarkable.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.5 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14043 appears top center in this image. Above and left, on the edge of the frame, is the leader spot of 14044. Directly below 14043 is part of 14047.	This entire zone of the Sun has been quiet all day today and likely for the last several days. The opposite end of the solar disk is showing much more activity.
AR 14048 is the largest group left of image center. AR 14046 is near the top, 14045 is the small spot just right of image center, and 14049 is located at bottom center.	These regions, especially 14048 and 14046, produced all of today’s activity. There appears to be a weak C-class flare in progress next to 14049

M-class flares are likely, with a 60% chance overall. There is a slight chance, 15%, for X-class flares through 2 April primarily due to the activity of AR 14048.

March 25,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels, with only C-class flares occurring. There was almost an M-class flare this morning: a C9.5 peaking at 12:29 UT from an undisclosed region (GONG imagery seems to indicate AR 14028 as the possible source). This was the largest flare since the M1 we observed on 21 March. After this, the largest flare was a C5.2 from AR 14035 at 7:37 UT on 24 March. This region has been decaying. AR 14036, however, has been growing and was the source of most of the flares yesterday and (at least early) today. The region appeared notably larger and more complex during this morning’s visual sunspot count observations, and there are indications the magnetic complexity is increasing as well. However, this region is about to rotate over the western limb so it will be out of our view in three days.

There are a total of seven spotted regions (6 numbered, one un-numbered) and six numbered spotless regions on the visible disk of the Sun. Aside from ARs 14036, 14030 (on the west limb) and a new spot grouping on the east northeast limb, the whole of the solar disk is almost completely spotless.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14036 and 14030 prepare to be carried out of view. AR 14033 (top) is spotless and 14035 (top left) is in decay.	This zone of the Sun in H-alpha appears to be rather quiet. AR 14036 has been producing C-class flares regularly, though.
A new spotted active region rotates into view (upper left) and seems to have grown just a little since yesterday. The arrow points to what’s left o AR 14039, which is in decay.	This zone of the Sun seems to be rather quiet also, but the bright plage around the new AR near the Sun’s edge may indicate some increased activity to come.

There is a 30% chance for an isolated M-class flare and a 5% chance for an X-class flare (would most likely come from departing region 14036) through 27 March.

March 24,2025

Solar activity remains at low level. AR 14028 produced a C4.5 flare at 14:22 UT, yesterday, 23 March as it slowly decays. AR 14035, despite its very weak appearance, produced a C5.2 flare today at 7:37 UT. AR 14026 produced a C2.3/SF at 13:36 UT today. Otherwise these, and all the spotted active regions on the visible solar disk, remained quiet. A C1.8 flare occurred at 20:49 UT (the biggest since the C2.3 event earlier), and may have come from 14:36, but no event reports after 14:00 have been posted.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. The first image is a red continuum image, 0.25 second exposure. The second is an H-alpha images, 0.5 second exposure. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

The two largest spot groups on the visible disk are about to be carried over the edge by rotation. The rest of the regions contain very tiny spots and are otherwise quiet.

Despite its growth and flare potential, AR 14036 (right, above center) has been mainly quiet today. AR 14030 is the single spot near bottom center of image.

C-class flares are expected to continue, along with a chance for isolated M-class flares, through 26 March.

March 22,2025

After Friday’s M1.2/1N flare from AR 14028 at 15:34UT, 21 March, solar activity returned to low levels. The flare produced a fast, faint partial halo CME which is expected to impact the Earth’s magnetic field early on 23 March. AR 14033 returned as a group of tiny spots; AR 14036 is growing rapidly, gaining additional spots and magnetic complexity. New spots in the eastern half of the solar disk were small and quiet. AR 14035 is in a state of decay.

AR 14035 produced a C5.0/SF at 17:17 UT today, and AR 14036 produced a trio of subflares from 14:01 to 14:49 UT; all else was quiet all day.

The cluster of active regions on the western side of the Sun seem to be in decay, except for AR 14036 (top center).	This image centers on AR 14036, with 14033 appearing just above it, about halfway to the top of the frame.
AR 14035 (lower left) seems to be in decay.	Some activity is apparent in 14035 as seen in the bright spots.

C-class flares are expected to continue, along with a chance for isolated M-class flares, through 24 March.

March 21,2025

Solar activity reached moderate levels today. AR 14028 produced an M1.2 flare at 15:58 UT today, the largest of the period and the largest since the M1.0 earlier this week. Prior to that AR 14025 produced a C4.4 flare at 17:10 UT on 20 March. We observed a significant part of each event at the Solar Observatory. AR 14031 is developing additional spots in its trailing half. Several new (and tiny) spot groups were noted on the Sun: two emerged near the central meridian north of the solar equator and are growing rapidly, and two rotated into view along the eastern limb. The remaining numbered active regions remain quiet and small.

A filament erupted near the eastern limb at 18:13 UT yesterday (after our observing session ended) but no CME was observed from this event. A fairly large prominence was seen on the eastern limb, which appeared to be lifting off (one footpoint remains on the surface, the other end is aloft). As of this writing, (21:00 UT) it appears to be thinning and disappearing. This prominence and the M1.2 flare one minute after its X-ray peak, are shown immediately below. Each is a 0.25 second exposure in H-alpha.

The M1.2/1N flare (white fingers of light) as seen one minute after its X-ray peak. The optical peak was at 15:56 UT and consisted of a parallel ribbon configuration. This image, with celestial north up, west right, covers 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky.

A large arching prominence over the east limb of the Sun. East is up, north right in this 12.2’x13.8′ image.

Many of the active regions that had been visible on the Sun are preparing to be carried over the limb and out of direct Earth view by solar rotation. Several more follow behind them.	The H-alpha view shows the M1.2 flare in its developing stages (9 minutes before optical peak, 11 minutes before X-ray peak). The remaining active regions are quiet.
In contrast to the western half of the Sun, the eastern half is very quiet, almost blank. AR 14035 is the pair of spots in the upper right, and 14034 is just visible in the lower right. A small, tight pair of spots (top, near sun’s edge) has rotated into view, along with a tiny, single spot (left center near sun’s edge).	It appears as if the Sun is wiping itself clean again. As the more active spot regions depart over the western limb, the eastern half of the Sun only shows a few small spotted regions and filaments. A surge observed near the arching prominence may indicate a more interesting region about to rotate into view.

C-class flares are expected to continue, along with a chance for isolated M-class flares, through 23 March.

March 20,2025

Solar activity returned to low levels after yesterday’s M1.5 flare. Today, there has only been three C-flares so far: a C5.6 from AR 14031, a C2.5 from AR 14022, and a C4.4 from AR 14025. We observed this flare from four minutes after its peak until the end of the X-ray event. ARs 14028, 14034, and 14035 have grown slightly while ARs 14020, 14022, 14025, and 14031 all appear to be decaying. Currently there are 11 numbered active regions and 2 un-numbered active regions on the visible disk today, but everything has remained mainly quiet (through 19:39 UT, 20 March).

Many small active regions continue to pepper the western half of the Sun. Although ARs 14020 and 14023 are reported to each have one spot, no spots were seen visually or in these images today.	The C4 flare appears as brighter patches right of AR 14022 (NOAA-SWPC attributes the event to 14025). AR 14026 (bottom) had spots re-emerge from a spotless plage area since yesterday.
The eastern half of the Sun is beginning to look rather bland, with only a few sunspot groups visible.	This part of the Sun continues to be quiet, with little activity observed from any of these active regions.

C-class flares are expected to occur, along with a chance for isolated M-class flares, through 22 March.

March 19,2025

Solar activity reached moderate levels with an M1.5 flare from AR 14031 at 20:40 UT today. Prior to this, only minor C-class flares happened yesterday and today, rendering the activity level low. There are 11 spotted active regions on the visible disk today (down from 13 yesterday) and several of these have grown slightly. AR 14025 is growing overall but had not produced any flares so far today. In addition to the M1.5 flare, AR’s 14028, 14030, and 14031 have each produced one C2 event so far today (through 21:05 UT). All the other regions are unremarkable.

This batch of sunspot groups is approaching the west limb. AR’s 14020 and 14023 became spotless, based on this afternoon’s visual sunspot counts.	AR 14021 (below image center) produced an optical subflare today at 17:37 UT. AR 14031 was the source of a C2.0 at 10:25 UT and a M1.5 at 20:40 UT.
These regions are being carried across the Sun by its rotation. The pair of spots below the time stamp have not been numbered yet.	This zone of the Sun appears quiet in H-alpha. AR 14028 and 14030 (bottom) were the sources of a C2.8/SF at 16:39 UT and a C2.9 at 11:41 UT, respectively.

More C-class flares are expected to occur, along with a chance for isolated M-class flares, through 21 March.

March 18,2025

After briefly reaching moderate levels with the C9.8/M1.0 double flare from AR 14033, solar activity has returned to low levels. Frequent C-class flaring occurred before and since this event, but mostly ended with a C3.0 from AR 14028 at 4:26 UT this morning. Since then, nothing significant has occurred or been reported, through 23:00 UT (the flat X-ray plot was punctuated by a C2.1 at 21:12 UT today but no information is yet available about the source). The double-flare produced two Coronal Mass Ejections which may weakly impact the Earth’s magnetic field on 19 March. There are a total of 13 spotted active regions visible on the solar disk, but all of them are rather unremarkable. However, AR’s 14025, 14028, and 14031 each have what is called a beta-gamma magnetic type, meaning conditions are somewhat favorable for each of these to produce C- and M-class flares.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.50 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 1.0 second exposures. The H-alpha images were made through a thin veil of cirrus, reducing the H-alpha contrast. The cirrus lingered for much of the morning, then cumulus clouds appeared by mid-day. The winds kicked up and atmospheric seeing was expected to deteriorate after 17:00 UT. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

Lots of spotted active regions occupy this part of the solar disk.	All of these regions have been quiet today and yesterday.
AR 14028 produced the only flare so far today (up to 23:00 UT), a C3 at 4:26 UT.	This region of the Sun as viewed through thin cirrus. Overall, things are quiet.

The three active regions with the “beta-gamma” magnetic configurations mentioned above combine to provide a chance for isolated M-class flares and a slight chance for an X-class flare through 20 March.

March 17,2025

Although solar activity had been reported to be at low levels (prior to this afternoon’s M1.0 flare), this morning’s NOAA-SWPC discussion contains a lot of action. AR 14028 is growing and is one of the largest of the 13 visible spotted active regions on the Sun. It produced a C6.5/SF at 22:32 UT, 16 March, and a C7.8/1F flare at 5:42UT today. It produced a C2.7/SF at 14:30 UT today, then has been mostly quiet. ARs 14025 and 14031 continue to grow but were mostly quiet. ARs 14021 and 14034 also showed some slight growth but were otherwise quiet. Everything else was quiet and stable. A double peaked C-class event (C6.6 at 16:04 UT, and a C5.3 at 16:18 UT) was observed during today’s session. Later in the day, AR 14033 produced a C9 flare at 19:19 UT, which was immediately followed by a long-duration M1.0 event from the same active region, which peaked at 19:33 UT. These events were not observed at PVSO.

There was a disappearing solar filament yesterday which produced a CME, heading north away from the solar disk. A pair of eruptions occurred yesterday from AR 14032. These produced a pair of CMEs, which could offer a glancing blow late on 19 March but details are still pending. At around 10:32 UT today, an approximately 5 degree long filament erupted from the northwest quadrant of the solar disk. It is not yet clear whether this produced a CME. AR 14032 decayed to spotless plage yesterday.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 1.00 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

The batch of regions on the east side of the Sun last week has now rotated to the west side of the Sun this week.	The same regions but viewed in H-alpha. The light colored features around AR 14019 (lower right) is the precursor glow of a double-peaked C-class event.
Some more spotted active regions are on the east side of the sun (white splotches are processing artifacts). Most lie along a row in the southern hemisphere.	Aside from some C-class flaring, this part of the Sun has been mainly quiet today.

Solar activity is expected to be low, with a chance for M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares through 19 March.

March 12,2025

Solar activity is slowly increasing with more frequent C-class flares, which include two near-M-class events. No region is (yet) attributed to the C-class flares reported today, although most of these have come from AR’s 14024, 14027, and an unnumbered region that is just starting to rotate into view on the ESE limb. AR 14012 is quiet and continues to slowly decay as it starts to rotate out of view; AR 14024 is also decaying as it rotates out of view. ARs 14019 and 14020 are slowly growing, as are AR’s 14025, 14026, and 14027, each of which emerged on the disk in the last day or two.

Each of the images below is a 0.5 second exposure and spans 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky (unless otherwise indicated). Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

This 13.8’x13.8′ image shows AR 14012 (just right of center with a few spots) and 14024 (whitish spotless area upper right corner) as they begin to rotate out of view.	The same regions are shown in this H-alpha image, with the addition of AR 14018 (upper left). This AR has only a few additional tiny trailing spots (just out of the image frame).
Six active regions (labeled) are shown. Another region just rotating into view is just off the bottom edge of the image, on the edge of the Sun.	Same regions as depicted at left, but shown in H-alpha. Off the bottom left, below 14021 is AR 14026; AR 14018 is below and right of 14019 (lower right corner).

There is an increasing chance for M-class flares through 14 March.

March 11,2025

Solar activity remains low with only low-level C-class flare activity occurring. There was a bit of an uptick in activity today as newly emerged AR 14024 (due north of 14012) began to flare. It produced an M1.1 at 13:04 UT today, then a C5.8 at 18:30 UT. There was a C7.2 event at 19:16 UT today and a C9.6 at 21:22 UT today but no information is yet available as to the source(s) of these events. AR 14012 continues to decay as it approaches the western limb and it remained quiet yesterday and all day today. AR 14019 is growing and may have increased potential for M-class flare activity in the coming days. There are a total of 8 spotted regions visible on the Sun today: two small ones are about to rotate out of view, and the remaining occupy the northeast quarter of the solar disk.

Each of the top row of images spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky; each of the bottom row images cover 13.8’x18.0′. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14012 is the few spots nearing the edge of the Sun.	The view is adjusted to include AR 14024 (about halfway from image center to top edge).
Five of the six regions in this part of the Sun are shown; the location of the sixth is indicated: directly above the arrow and near the edge.	Aside from a sub-flare from AR 14021, this part of the Sun has been quiet all day.

There is a chance for M-class flares through 13 March as AR 14019 grows in size and complexity.

March 10,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels. Only minimal C-class activity occurred yesterday and today. A lone M1.6 flare occurred on 7 March at 21:00 UT, but everything has been quiet since. The largest event since yesterday’s C2.5 at 18:54 (from an unnumbered region that is just rotating into view) was a long-duration C2.0 flare that appears to have come from AR 14020 (based on GONG imagery). This event peaked at 20:32 UT today. AR 14012 continues to decay and produced a few minor C-class flares yesterday, nothing today. AR 14019 is beginning to grow but was quiet all day today. It did produce a C1.7 flare yesterday at17:21UT. AR 14018 is also showing signs of growth, but has been quiet. All the other numbered regions were unremarkable.

Each of the images below span 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14012 is the only spotted region visible in this part of the solar disk.	There are signs of a new AR emerging directly above 14012 (just above image center). All remains quiet, though.
The other side of the Sun features a scattering of small active regions.	AR 14019 (above center) is slowly growing and may begin to flare soon.

There is a chance for M-class flares through 12 March as AR 14019 grows in size and complexity.

March 6,2025

Solar activity remained low today with only occasional low-level C-class flaring. AR’s 14007 and 14012 have decayed some, AR 14016 has grown earlier but is now mostly stable, and the rest of the spotted active regions are either stable or in decay.

Only two spotted regions are visible as the others in this part of the sun have either dissipated or rotated out of view.	AR 14007 is the pair of spots in the lower part of the image, close to the edge of the Sun. AR 14009 is the single spot directly above 14007, near the top.
Several active regions are in various stages of visibility. Each of these are stable or slowly decaying.	AR 14016 is the only region so far to have reported being a source for a C1 flare.

There is a chance for M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares from 6 to 8 March due to ARs 14012 and 14016.

March 5,2025

Solar activity bumped up to moderate levels with an impulsive M1.7 flare at 11:50 UT today (5 March). This was the first M-class flare from any region in over one week. Since the event, the Sun returned to low activity levels with only a C1 flare from AR 14007 at 17:38 UT. AR 14016 produced a C1 flare at 0:44 UT today, and AR’s 14009 and 14012 each produced a C1, at 2:54 UT and 8:26 UT, respectively. ARs 14012 and 14016 continue to grow. The remaining spotted active regions appear to be in decay.

Each of the below images spans 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14007 continues to rotate toward the solar limb. Aside from a single C1 event, it has been quiet.	AR 14007 (bottom right, 2 spots), along with AR 14009 (single spot above and right of image center), AR 14014 (tiny spot above 14009), and 14006 (bright material right of 14009) are shown in this image.
AR 14012 is the large complex right of image center. The remains of 14011 consist of the small spots below and right of the leading spots of 14012. AR 14016 appears below left of 14012. A new spot at rotated into view, left center.	The small AR 14016 was the source of today’s largest flare event, an M1.7, and the first M-class flare in over one week. AR 14012 remained comparatively quiet.

There is a 40% chance for M-class flares and a 5% chance for X-class flares from 5 to 7 March as AR 14012 has grown.

March 4,2025

Solar activity continues to be low and has been so since last week. The largest flare (yesterday or today) was a C4.6 event at 15:45 UT from AR 14012. This region, along with AR 14006, has been responsible for all of the flares, all low-level C-class. AR 14006 is in decay as it rotates out of view, but AR 14012 is growing in size and spot number. AR 14007 also showed some growth but remained quiet.

Large AR 14007 is the large pair of spots bottom center. Just right of center, the single spot is 14006. Just above and left of center is a vertical string of spots: 14009 and 14014.	Despite its larger size, AR 14007 was virtually quiet all day today. The small AR 14006 was the center of activity early today.
AR 14012 is the largest region visible in this image. It is flanked by AR 14001 (single spot lower right) and AR 14016 (small spot group lower left of 14012).	AR 14012 was the source of many of the flares that occurred today. So far (through 22:00 UT today) it produced 7 C-class flares (compared to 4 from AR 14006).

Solar activity is expected to remain low, with a chance for M-class events through 6 March. If AR 14007 and/or 14012 continue to grow in size and complexity, the M-class events could become more likely, and a slight chance of X-class events could be possible.

February 28,2025

With clear skies once again, follow up observations of a quiet Sun were made in the late morning hours. Solar activity continues to be at low levels with only C-class activity (C5 and less since 0:00 UT, 28 February through at least 23:11 UT) occurring fairly regularly. AR’s 14009 and 14010 emerged onto the solar disk (see labeled image below), and they weren’t visible (through the thin clouds) yesterday. All of the regions were stable or in decay. AR’s 13998, 14006, and 14007 were the sources of the flares.

Each of the below images is a 0.5 second exposure and covers 13.8’x18.0′ of sky. The first two are identical red continuum images, the second of which is labeled. The third (right most) image is H-alpha line center. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

All of the currently-visible active regions are captured in this single image.

This is the same image as displayed immediately left, but labeled.

In H-alpha, this part of the Sun still looks fairly quiet. AR 14007 and 14006 produced C-class flare activity today.

M-class events continue to be forecasted to be likely today (28 Feb.) and tomorrow (29 Feb.), with a chance of X-class flares during this period. There is a chance for M-class flares on 2 March, with X-class flaring unlikely by then.

February 27,2025

Weather was cloudy today but the clouds thinned enough to allow the Sun to shine through fairly strongly. This was enough for a complete set of continuum images, although they were made through cirrostratus clouds of varying thickness. H-alpha imaging was attempted, unsuccessfully, due to even the presence of thin clouds greatly reducing the contrast.

Solar activity remained at low levels. AR 14007 produced a C5.7 flare at 12:42 UT on 26 February. AR 13998 produced a C5.7 event at 6:34 UT on 27 February. This region decayed some as it exited the solar disk, being carried away by the Sun’s rotation. Shortly after this flare, AR 13998 produced a C7.5 event at 12:36 UT, then was quiet for the rest of the day. AR 13996, also rotating out of view, produced a near-M-class event: a C9.3 flare at 23:24 UT, the largest in over two days.

A filament erupted in the southwest part of the solar disk on 26 February and produced a CME that became visible to SOHO by 14:48 UT. This CME is expected to miss the Earth, passing by ahead of the Earth in it’s orbit.

Each of the below red continuum images is a 0.5 second exposure and covers 13.8’x18.0′ of sky. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

AR 14002, top center, appears as a scattering of tiny spots. AR 14000’s leader spot is just visible close to the edge just above and right of image center. AR 13998 is easily seen bottom just right of center.

Several AR’s appear in this image: AR 14006 is the largest in the image, above and right of center. AR 14008 is the single spot in the upper left corner. AR 14007 is at bottom center.

M-class flare events continue to be likely, with a chance for X-class events, from 27 February t0 1 March.

February 26,2025

Solar activity returned to low levels. The last M-class flare (to date, as of 20:45 UT) was the long-duration M3.6/1F flare at 11:59 UT yesterday from AR 13998. Since then, only occasional low-level C-class flares have occurred. AR 14007 produced a pair of C-class flares: a C3.6 at 3:45 UT today, and a C5.7 at 12:42 UT today. After these, AR 13998 produced a pair of C-class flares: a C2.9 at 14:29 UT today and a C4.4 at 18:50 UT today. The remaining regions were quiet today and most of yesterday.

AR 14000 (top) and 13998 (bottom, with 13993 on the edge below it) prepare to rotate out of view.	This area of the Sun has become mostly quiet in the last 1.5 days or so.
AR 14006 (right) was completely quiet despite its increasingly complex magnetic bundles. AR 14008 is the single spot toward the left.	AR 14006 and 14008 appear at the top and top left; the pair of spots below and left of center are AR 14007 (source of 2 C-class flares) and 14004 below it.

M-class flares are likely with a chance for X-class flares from 26 to 28 February.

February 25,2025

Solar activity remains at moderate levels. ARs 14000 and 14001 produced M-class flares yesterday, and AR 13998 only produced C-class flares yesterday. Today, it was the source of an M1.3 flare at 2:47 UT and an M3.6/1F flare at 11:59 UT. The Sun has been mainly quiet since, punctuated by a C4.2 from 13998 at 17:58 UT; and a C4.1 at 18:10 UT from AR 14000 (just as the clouds began to break up at the PV observatory. Except for the two C-class events, the X-ray curve has been quite flat (gently sloping down) since 112:45 UT, through at least 21:10 UT.

The long duration M3.9 flare from yesterday actually came from a region off the southwest limb at solar latitude S14. The flare peaked at 23:02 UT, and a CME emerged from this location a few hours later. The cloud of charged particles is expected to pass ahead of Earth in its orbit, missing it totally.

AR 13998 (bottom center) was the main source of activity today.	These regions (AR 14000, top; 13998, bottom; 13996, below and right of 13998) have been mostly quiet since this morning’s M-flares.
AR 14006 (top right) continues to grow but remains quiet. The pair of spots bottom center is 14007 (top spot) and 14004 (bottom spot).	Aside from bright plage and a few miscellaneous filaments, this part of the Sun has been quiet.

M-class flares are likely with a chance for X-class flares from 25 to 27 February.

February 24,2025

Since 20 February, solar activity increased to high levels. From 21 February to this writing (23:15 UT, 24 February), nine M-class flares and one X-class flare occurred. The X class flare was an X2.0 from just over the Sun’s western limb from departing AR 14001. It also produced an M1.3 flare today (24 February) at 1:46 UT. This region since became quiet as it rotated out of view, but may be responsible for the current longer-duration M-class flare (peaking at M3.9 at 23:06 and has slowly started to decrease). The GONG H-alpha images have not shown any signs of flare activity during this event. AR 14000 produced an M1.3 flare at 7:02 UT, and an M1.5 at 21:01 UT today. AR 13398 was the source of four C-class events, the largest of which was a C8.7 at 13:20 UT today.

Each of the below images spans 18.0’x13.8′ on the sky. The first column contains red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposures. The second column contain H-alpha images, each 0.5 second exposures. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

The western side of the Sun with 5 of 6 active regions on display (13996 is just below the bottom center edge of the image).	Most of today’s activity has come from this part of the Sun, especially 13998 (below, left) and 14000 (top center).
The eastern side of the Sun with 4 active regions visible. The largest of these is 14006, which has remained mostly quiet.	The eastern zone of the Sun in H-alpha shows the same regions as depicted left, but with the addition of a few faint filaments.

M-class flares are likely with a chance for X-class flares from 24 to 26 February.

February 20,2025

Solar activity continues to be at low levels, with no M-class flares since the M1.0 event at 15:15 UT on 17 February. Since then, only C-class activity was observed. The largest event since then (up to the time of this writing, 21:20 UT) was a C8.1 at 23:45 UT on 19 February, which came from near plage associated with spotless region 13991. This produced a Coronal Mass Ejection off the SW part of the solar disk. AR 13996 is the largest and most complex active region on the visible disk, but only produced some C-class flares. AR 13998 is showing some magnetic flux emergence but has been quiet, producing only a C1.3 flare at 14:08 UT on 19 February. AR 13996 had been responsible for most of the flares observed today. It produced 4 low-level C-class flares (3- c1 and 1 C4) between 0:00 and 23:15 UT today.

A scattering of small spotted active regions are visible in the western half of the solar disk.	AR 13996 (lower left) has been the most active of these regions today. AR 13990 (lower right) produced one C-class flare today.
With the focus of this image on disk center, several more active regions are visible, including the 13996/13998 pair (below center).	AR 13996 is the largest region on the visible solar disk, at 330 MSH. It was the source of most of the C-flares today as well.

Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for isolated M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares through 22 February.

February 17,2025

Solar activity remains at low levels, except for an M1.0 flare from AR 13992 at 15:13 UT which briefly bumped it up to moderate. AR 13990 is in decay with most of its western spots dissipating. AR 13992, as it departs over the western limb, produced a C5.9 flare at 4:46 UT today and grew a bit in the process. AR 13996 has shown some magnetic shear activity but was quiet overall. AR 13998 has shown rapid emergence of magnetic flux and produced a C6.1 flare at 18:38 UT on 16 February. AR 13999 is also growing rapidly but stayed mainly quiet. Prior to today’s M1.o flare, the last M flare was around 21:00 UT on 14 February, with three preceding this on the 14th and 13th of February.

A widely scattered group of sunspot groups rotates toward the western limb.	Of these regions, AR 13992 was most active, with 3 C-class and 1 M-class event so far today.
More small active regions grace the eastern half of the Sun.	Of these regions, AR 13998 was most active, with 6 C-class events so far today.

Solar activity is expected to remain low with a chance for M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares through 19 February.

February 13,2025

Solar activity has returned to low levels and has been mostly at low levels since the AR complex rotated over the solar limb a few days ago. Only occasional M-class flares have occurred since 8 February, about one every day or two. The most recent was an M1.0 from newly-emerged AR 13992 (just east of AR 13987). This event occurred at 11:09 UTC today. Since then, only minor C-class flares have happened from this rapidly growing active region as well as AR 13990. Another medium-sized spot is rotating into view over the Sun’s east northeast limb, bringing the total of spotted active regions to 9 (this includes a pair of spots that just emerged at S19 E 11). A long duration C9.0 flare peaked at 22:43 UT today and, based on GONG imagery, appears to have come from the eruption of part of a filament.

AR 13992 is a newly emerged region that has shown some activity.	Aside from 13992, these regions have been mainly quiet today.
AR 13990 is the largest spotted region on the Sun today. It was mainly quiet with a few C-class flares.	Late in the day, the curved bright region shown left of 13990 (the largest spot with companion below image center) erupted in a flare event.

Solar activity is expected to remain low with a chance for M-class flares through 15 February.

February 8,2025

Solar activity returned to moderate levels briefly early today when AR 13981 produced an M2.0 flare today at 9:27 UTC. This was the largest event since the M7.6 nearly exactly 24 hours earlier. Since then, and for the rest of the day, no further M-class flares occurred. AR 13981 also produced five documented C-class flares today, through 21:30 UT. AR 13894 has started to produce flares, with six documented during this period. The largest of these was a C8.0 at 12:54 UT. AR 13981 has shown signs of decay, while AR 13978 has grown some. The dark filament south of the AR complex appeared to be active during the observation period but has not shown any indication of launching or disappearing through 22:00 UT.

The active region complex is approaching the western limb of the Sun. Solar activity remained at low levels since the M2 flare. A new large spot is starting to rotate into view on the ENE limb. This, and most of the visible active regions were quiet and stable.

Each image covers 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky, with celestial north up, west right. The first column and the top image of the second column are red continuum images, each 0.25 second exposure. The remaining images are each H-alpha, each 0.5 second exposures.

The active region complex continues to approach the west limb.	This is the same image as the one immediately left, but with the regions labelled.	Nearly all of today’s solar events occurred from the active region complex.
The opposite limb of the Sun looks quiet, with only small, simple spots showing.	The same area of the Sun in H-alpha looks rather unremarkable.	The southern third of the Sun’s disk displays several filaments (arrowed).

Solar activity is expected to be at moderate levels, with a chance for isolated X-class flares from now through 10 February. This is due to the active region complex nearing the NW limb of the Sun.

February 7,2025

Solar activity was high today because of an M7.5 that happened overnight (in Southeast Texas), 9:21 UT today from AR 13981. This region produced an additional pair of M-flares prior to this larger M-class event: an M1.6 at 6:30 UT today, followed by an M3.2 51 minutes later, at 7:21 UT. AR 13978 also produced an M2.3/1N event yesterday, 6 February at 23:27 UT.

There was a near-M flare at 12:14 UT today from the same region, AR 13981, a C9.1 event. Since then, through the time of this writing, there had only been occasional low-level C-class events, mainly from 13981. This region experienced some decay in the trailing end, and some new spot emergence in the leading end. All of the other spotted regions were either stable or in decay. There are currently a total of 9 spotted active regions on the visible disk.

The weather was clear enough this morning only for a brief interval, allowing only red continuum images to be obtained. Contrary to the forecast from most sources for today, sunny skies did not return (overcast conditions did, just after these images were taken) and skies remained cloudy the rest of the day. Each of the below is a 0.25 second exposure and covers 13.8’x13.8′ on the sky, with celestial north up, west right.

West disk frame of the routine 9-image mosaic sequence featuring AR 13981, which dominates starting with the large spot just right of image center and extending leftward. AR 13976 is the single spot close to the limb. Above that is 13977, to the left and below is 13978. AR 13985 is the pair of spots near the top, left of center.

East disk frame of the routine 9-image mosaic sequence features AR 13983 (upper right in image), 13986 (top, just left of center, the largest spot in this image), and 13987 (left near center). These regions have been quiet all day, with only very low level C-class activity (C2) from 13986 around 17:10 UT today.

Solar activity is expected to return to moderate levels (after being at low levels after 12h UT today), with a chance for isolated X-class flares from now through 9 February. This is due to the active region complex nearing the NW limb of the Sun.

February 6,2025

Solar activity was high today due to an M7.6 flare from AR 13981 at 11:04 UT today. This event produced ejected material visible in extreme ultraviolet satellite images and a coronal maxx ejection later in the day. AR’s 13981 and 13977 produced the majority of the flaring over the last two days. There were some contributions of C-class activity from ARs 13976 and 13984.

Since the M7 flare, there had only been low-level C-class events. And then AR 13976 produced a C9.3 event at 22:35 UT. This was followed by an M2.3, peaking at 23:27 UT.

Each of the below images spans 18.0’x13.8′ on the sky. Except for the filament image immediately below, the first column images are red continuum images, with 0.25 second exposures. The second column (including the filament image) are H-alpha images of 0.5 second exposure each. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

The AR complex, dominated by AR 13981 just above image center, has begun to approach the west limb.	This zone on the Sun has been the most active over the last several days. There is still potential for an X-class flare from here.
On the opposite end of the Sun, AR 13987 (just above and left of image center), AR 13986 (largest spot center of top edge of image), and 13983 (right of 13986) have rotated into view.	Aside from these small, simple, and stable active regions that have just rotated into view, a filament (lower right) is visible.

Solar activity is expected to remain at least at moderate levels with a chance for isolated X-class flares through 8 February, due to the complex of active regions in the northwest solar quadrant.

February 4,2025

Solar activity for today remained at moderate levels as the frequency of M-class flares has decreased considerably. Since (and including) the M4 event at 18:36 UT yesterday, there had been 8 M-class flares, the largest of which was an M4.8 from AR 13981 at 11:21 UT today. The most recent event was an M1.1 at 13:45 UT today. Since then, through this writing at 0:00 UT (5 February), there has been no further M-class activity, only low-level C-class flares. AR 13981 continues to be the source of the vast majority of flare and is continuing to grow in size and magnetic complexity. AR 13978, as of today, has become AR 13978 (south part) and 13984(north part).

Outside of this cluster of active regions, there are only tiny sunspot regions that are either stable or in decay, and are magnetically simple. AR 13983 is a newly visible region on the eastern limb.

(Seeing was rather poor today, hence the slightly blurred images.) Each image covers 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first is a red continuum image of 0.25 second exposure, the rest are H-alpha line center images, each 0.5 second exposure. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

The active region complex as imaged in white light. AR 13981 is the group starting with the large spot near image center and continuing left in this image.

This is the same region as imaged in H-alpha. This area has quieted down somewhat today, but still dominates the Sun in terms of sunspots.

The two large filaments, along with several smaller ones, remain visible in the southern solar hemisphere.

Solar activity is expected to remain at moderate levels, with a slight chance for isolated X-class flares through 6 February, due to the complex cluster of active regions in the northern solar hemisphere.

February 3,2025

Solar activity was high due to a high number of M-class flares, 14 total from 10:14 UT on 2 February to 23:30 UT on 3 February. The largest of these was an M8.8, which came from AR 13981 at 3:58 UT on 3 February. It also produced an M6.1 at 13:18 UT on 3 February. This region was responsible for nearly all of these flares. It is the trailing region (and largest region) of the 5 region active region complex currently marching across the solar disk, carried along by its rotation. Taking all 5 groups together, this complex covers 860 millionths of a solar hemisphere (MSH).

Each image covers 13.8’x18.0′ on the sky. The first is a red continuum image of 0.25 second exposure, the rest are H-alpha line center images, each 0.5 second exposure. Celestial north is up, west is right in each image.

This cluster of active regions dominates the near-side disk of the sun. AR 13981 starts with the large spot at image center and works eastward (leftward) in the image.

AR 13981 (now left of center) produced nearly all of today’s solar flare. The wide gray band in the upper right of the image is an artefact from the imaging system.

These two large filaments were visible on the solar disk (the large darker patch above the large filament on the right is an imaging artefact).

Solar activity is expected to remain at moderate levels, with a slight chance for isolated X-class flares through 5 February, due to the complex cluster of active regions in the northern solar hemisphere.

January 31,2025

Solar observations resume with the Sun returning to active levels. There was an M1.0 from AR 13976 at 6:10 UT on 31 January. This region is part of a triangular-shaped three group complex which is rotating into view from the ENE limb. Then, less than 8 hours later, at 14:06 UT, the region produced an M6.7/1N event, which is also imaged below by Solar Dynamics Observatory. The extreme ultraviolet image is an animated gif that will show several images highlighting the flare’s activity. All three regions of this complex (AR 13976, 13977, and 13978) have shown minor growth recently, and this flare event was the largest in at least one week (likely longer).

A solar filament, about 18 degrees in length on the Sun, centered near Solar Coordinates S35 E30 disappeared between 13:00 and 15:00 UT on 30 January. This produced a coronal mass ejection off the SE limb, which is expected to deal a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on 2 February.

The power cord for the H-alpha filter was unavailable so only continuum images were taken during one short session today. The below is two copies of the same field of view, which includes all but one of the active regions currently visible on the solar disk. The image was taken at the time indicated and is shown in both labeled and un-labeled format. The image, a 0.25 second exposure, covers 13.8’x18.0′ on the Sun.

Solar activity is likely to reach moderate levels between now and the end of the day, 2 February, primarily due to the flare potentials from the active region complex in the northeast quadrant of the Sun.

Solar Observations – 2025

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NOTE: Images of the March 14, 2025 total lunar eclipse are posted at https://www.pvamu.edu/pvso/cosmic-corner/total-lunar-eclipse-1/

NOTE: Images of the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse are posted at https://www.pvamu.edu/pvso/cosmic-corner/partial-solar-eclipse/.

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