MOST POWERFUL FLARE IN SOLAR CYCLE 25. It was X9.0 in GOES X-ray measurement. It was quite eruptive, leaving a coronal wave. The eruption/CME seemed to result from magnetic reconnection rather than ideally from a pre-existing flux rope. It may come in less than 3 days.

A major eruption in AR 14168 associated with an M2.2 flare on 2025/08/10. This phenomenon, supra-arcade downflow, accompanies very energetic eruptions. The CME was not particularly spectacular in this case, though. Other M-class flares in the same region did not show this.

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G1-G2 (Minor-Moderate) Watch Issued for 08-09 Aug 2025 by @NWSSWPC. See Here is the screenshot.

Near real-time ACE data provided by @NWSSWPC show the solar wind has been elevated since last night, finally causing a G1 (Kp:5-) storm. But we need to monitor the data for longer time to determine how the CME on Aug 5 may have contributed to these disturbances.

Today AR 14168 produced another M-class (M3.9) flare, preceded by an eruption in a quiescent region in the eastern hemisphere. I run two versions of AIA movies - running difference to see (weak) coronal waves and base difference to see significant coronal dimmings.

Agreed. But from STEREO-A, the CME appeared from left, meaning it did not propagate too west. Also the Parker spiral may help it toward us. Yes, we need to see model runs.

Eruption from Earth strike zone! We may get some impact on August 8. This was associated with an M4.4 flare in AR 14168, which seems to be still evolving. We see a more spectacular coronal wave than during yesterday's M2.0 flare. And major dimming (.

Large-scale coronal waves have been rare these days - I do not record any since 15 June 2025. Here is one from this morning, accompanying an M2.0 flare in AR 14168. It is not spectacular and not associated with a CME, but there may be more energetic ones in the coming days.

Solar activity is low. The latest X-class flare was on June 19. This movie (HMI magnetogram + helioseismic far side map) indicates no solid big spots over the past few weeks. But who knows there won't be major flux emergence in near future? We need to keep monitoring the Sun.

Great review article on coronal dimmings in connection with CMEs from the Sun and other stars. This is must-read. It may be challenging to completely comprehend Section 5 "A new categorization" (from page 49 to 78). Table 1 may help.

The reported filament disappearance in H-alpha was indeed an eruption also seen in coronal temperatures. And nice dimmings! I think this was responsible for the enhanced solar wind we are experiencing (but no storm yet due to northward field direction.)

This shows GOES X-ray flux in solar cycle 25 up to now (the last data point: 7-Jul-2025 21:49) in one-minute time resolution. The peak appears to have passed, but we will be experiencing many more X-class flares and associated major eruptions in coming years.

Eruption from Sun's northeast limb and M2.4 flare. This AIA passband is sensitive to both low (~0.5 MK) and high (~10 MK) temperature plasma. The flare represents the latter, whereas the eruption likely the former. The spurious diffraction pattern is not removed.

This shows GOES X-ray flux over most of solar cycle 24 in one-minute resolution. The two biggest X-class flares occurred well after the cycle peak. Also, note weeks of no major (e.g., >M-class) flares during the peak of the cycle. We may still have big events in near future.

The NICT press release you referred to was issued on 2017-09-07 JST, highlighting the X9.3 flare on 09-06. But there was an X8.3 flare on 09-10, which looked more spectacular with a very fast CME. This video served in my pinned post for long time. Yes, let's hope that.

Interesting. SDO/HMI B_LOS data indicate the magnetic field in Sun's north pole (latitude>70°, middle panel) fully reversed late in 2024. In the declining phase of a solar cycle, we may expect scary regions like AR 12673 (Sep 2017), and an elevated frequency of stealth CMEs.

The latest solar image shows high-latitude filaments are sitting in both hemispheres. According to an extremely senior, now Scottish, solar physicist (with ~60 years of experience), they may erupt at any time. We will see. From the Hinode 18 - IRIS 16 Meeting in London.

Another X-class (X1.9) flare occurred in AR 14114 around midnight (in UT) to 20 June 2025. Again, no global eruptions were observed. Therefore no CME and thus no auroras from this event. I think we are done with this region, which will soon rotate past Earth strike zone.

AR 14114 produced an X-class (X1.2) flare while in Earth-strike zone. But no sign of a global eruption -> no CME -> no geomagnetic impact. But don't give up. The region is still facing us.

Today (2025/06/15) there was a notable eruption, associated with an M8.4 flare in AR 14114. Its location in Earth strike zone may help impact us, but the eruption and coronal waves were quite limited. Here I show three kinds of AIA images for you to make your own predictions.

I probably meant Parker Solar Probe, which approached the Sun quickly. At its first encounter within three months after launch, it was already at 0.17 AU (35.6 solar radii) from the Sun. Keyword: Venus flyby. See