~Space Weather Update~ FARSIDE CME: Sunspots Quiet~

FARSIDE CME: A spectacular CME rocketed away from the sun's northwestern limb during the early hours of March 18th: movie. The probable source was old sunspot AR1429, still active as it transits the far side of the sun. Earth will not be affected by the cloud.

NORTHERN LIGHTS: For the third day in a row, a high-speed solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. The jostling is not enough to cause a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, but some nice intermittent auroras are flickering around the Arctic Circle. In the northern village of Ivujivik, Quebec, Sylvain Serre photographed an outburst on March 18th:

"What an incredible night," says Serre. "The Northern Lights weren't there when I first went outside, but after 5 minutes they were so strong that I had to try new settings for my camera."

NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of geomagnetic activity during the next 24 hours. High-latittude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras as the solar wind continues to blow. Aurora alerts: text, phone.

more images: from Jónína Óskarsdóttir of Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland; from Peter Scott of Durness, Scotland, UK; from Francis Anderson of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories Canada; from Chad Blakley of Abisko National Park, Sweden; from Iurie Belegurschi of Iceland; from Dirk Obudzinski of Cleary Summit, Alaska; from Petra Schneider of Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland; from Greg Kretovic of AuTrain, Michigan

Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES

Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 4 unsettled
explanation | more data

Interplanetary Mag. Field
B_total: 3.0 nT
B_z: 0.7 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1636 UT

Coronal Holes: 19 Mar 12

There are no large coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.