Space Weather Conditions

All data from NOAA

Daily Sunspot Area (Image NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)

Sunspot Cycle Prediction

The images I use to display are no longer available. This is a newer interactive link to the Spaceweather Prediction Center Sunspot Cycle Forecast

Space Weather Observations, Alerts, and Forecast

3-day Solar-Geophysical Forecast


Solar and Geophysical Activity Discussion

Geophysical Alert

Solar Progression

The Solar Cycle is represented in several ways. At the top is the Sunspot Number, in the middle, the F10.7cm Radio Flux, and at the bottom, the Ap Index (a measure of geomagnetic activity) history.

In all of the plots, the black line represents the monthly averaged data and the blue line represents a 13-month smoothed version of the monthly averaged data. For the Sunspot Number and F10.7cm, the forecast for the rest of the solar cycle is given by the red line.

Solar cycle predictions are used by various agencies and many industry groups. The solar cycle is important for determining the lifetime of satellites in low-Earth orbit, as the drag on the satellites correlates with the solar cycle, especially as represented by F10.7cm. A higher solar maximum decreases satellite life and a lower solar maximum extends satellite life. Also, the prediction gives a rough idea of the frequency of space weather storms of all types, from radio blackouts to geomagnetic storms to radiation storms, so is used by many industries to gauge the expected impact of space weather in the coming years.

Recent Solar Data

K-Index




Boulder Magnetometer




Alerts and Warnings Timeline




Realtime Orbit Display




Northern Hemisphere Aurora Forecast




Southern Hemisphere Aurora Forecast




Real Time Images of the Sun

AIA 193
48 Hour Video
This channel highlights the outer atmosphere of the Sun - called the corona - as well as hot flare plasma. Hot active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - called coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.

Characteristic temperature: 1.25 million K
(2.25 million F)

Solar Region: Corona/Flare Plasma - Emitted by iron-12 (Fe XII) at 1,000,000 K and iron 24 (Fe XXIV) at 20,000,000 Kelvin.
The former represents a slightly hotter region of the corona and the later represents the much hotter material of a solar flare. This wavelength is typically colorized in light brown.This channel highlights the outer atmosphere of the Sun - called the corona - as well as hot flare plasma. Hot active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - called coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.


AIA 304
48 Hour Video
This channel is especially good at showing areas where cooler dense plumes of plasma (filaments and prominences) are located above the visible surface of the Sun. Many of these features either can't be seen or appear as dark lines in the other channels. The bright areas show places where the plasma has a high density.

Characteristic temperature: 50,000 K

(90,000 F)

Solar Region: Transition Region/Chromosphere - Emitted by helium-2 (He II) at around 50,000 Kelvin. This light is emitted from the chromosphere and transition region.
SDO images of this wavelength are typically colorized in red. This channel is especially good at showing areas where cooler dense plumes of plasma (filaments and prominences) are located above the visible surface of the Sun. Many of these features either can't be seen or appear as dark lines in the other channels. The bright areas show places where the plasma has a high density.


AIA 171
48 Hour Video
This channel is especially good at showing coronal loops - the arcs extending off of the Sun where plasma moves along magnetic field lines. The brightest spots seen here are locations where the magnetic field near the surface is exceptionally strong.

Characteristic temperature: 600,000 K
(1.8 million F)

Solar Region: Upper Transition Region/Quiet Corona - Emitted by iron-9 (Fe IX) at around 600,000 Kelvin.
This wavelength shows the quiet corona and coronal loops, and is typically colorized in gold.This channel is especially good at showing coronal loops - the arcs extending off of the Sun where plasma moves along magnetic field lines. The brightest spots seen here are locations where the magnetic field near the surface is exceptionally strong.


AIA 211
48 Hour Video
This channel (as well as AIA 335) highlights the active region of the outer atmosphere of the Sun - the corona. Active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - called coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.

Characteristic temperature: 2 million K
(3.6 million F)

Solar Region: Corona/Active Regions - Emitted by iron-14 (Fe XIV) at temperatures of 2,000,000 Kelvin.
These images show hotter, magnetically active regions in the sun's corona and are typically colorized in purple. This channel (as well as AIA 335) highlights the active region of the outer atmosphere of the Sun - the corona. Active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - called coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.


AIA 131
48 Hour Video
This channel (as well as AIA 094) is designed to study solar flares. It measures extremely hot temperatures around 10 million K (18 million F), as well as cool plasmas around 400,000 K (720,000 F). It can take images every 2 seconds (instead of 10) in a reduced field of view in order to look at flares in more detail.

Characteristic temperatures: 10 million K
(18 million F)

Solar Region: Corona/Flaring Regions - Emitted by iron-20 (Fe XX) and iron-23 (Fe XXIII) at temperatures greater than 10,000,000 Kelvin, representing the material in flares.
The images are typically colorized in teal. It measures extremely hot temperatures around 10 million K (18 million F), as well as cool plasmas around 400,000 K (720,000 F). It can take images every 2 seconds (instead of 10) in a reduced field of view in order to look at flares in more detail.


AIA 335
48 Hour Video
This channel (as well as AIA 211) highlights the active region of the outer atmosphere of the Sun - the corona. Active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - or coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.

Solar Region: Corona/Active Regions - Emitted by iron-16 (Fe XVI) at temperatures of 2,500,000 Kelvin.
These images also show hotter, magnetically active regions in the corona, and are typically colorized in blue.This channel (as well as AIA 211) highlights the active region of the outer atmosphere of the Sun - the corona. Active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - or coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.


AIA 094
48 Hour Video
This channel (as well as AIA 131) is designed to study solar flares. It measures extremely hot temperatures around 6 million Kelvin (10.8 million F). It can take images every 2 seconds (instead of 10) in a reduced field of view in order to look at flares in more detail.

Characteristic temperature: 6 million K
(10.8 million F)

Solar Region: Corona/Flaring Regions - Emitted by iron-18 (Fe XVIII) at temperatures of 6,000,000 Kelvin (10.8 million F).
Temperatures like this represent regions of the corona during a solar flare. The images are typically colorized in green.This channel (as well as AIA 131) is designed to study solar flares. It can take images every 2 seconds (instead of 10) in a reduced field of view in order to look at flares in more detail.


AIA 1600
48 Hour Video
This channel (as well as AIA 1700) often shows a web-like pattern of bright areas that highlight places where bundles of magnetic fields lines are concentrated. However, small areas with a lot of field lines will appear black, usually near sunspots and active regions.

Characteristic temperatures: 6,000 K (11,000 F)
and 100,000 K (180,000 F)

Solar Region: Upper Photosphere/Transition Region - Emitted by carbon-4 (C IV) between 5,000 - 10,000 Kelvin.
C IV at these temperatures is present in the upper photosphere and what's called the transition region, a region between the chromosphere and the upper most layer of the sun's atmosphere called the corona. The transition region is where the temperature rapidly rises. SDO images of this wavelength are typically colorized in dark, grainy yellow.


AIA 1700
48 Hour Video This channel (as well as AIA 1600) often shows a web-like pattern of bright areas that highlight places where bundles of magnetic fields lines are concentrated. However, small areas with a lot of field lines will appear black, usually near sunspots and active regions.

Characteristic temperature: 6,000 K
(11,000 F)

Solar Region: Photosphere/Chromosphere - This channel (as well as AIA 1600) often shows a web-like pattern of bright areas that highlight places where bundles of magnetic fields lines are concentrated.
However, small areas with a lot of field lines will appear black, usually near sunspots and active regions. Ultraviolet light continuum, shows the surface of the sun. As well as a layer of the sun's atmosphere called the chromosphere, which lies just above the photosphere and is where the temperature begins rising and is typically colorized in a grainy pink.


The sun is constantly monitored for sun spots and coronal mass ejections. EIT (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) images the solar atmosphere at several wavelengths, and therefore, shows solar material at different temperatures. In the images taken at 304 Angstrom (top image), the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 degrees Kelvin (105,000-145,00 F). In those taken at 171 Angstrom, they are 1 million degrees (180,000 F). 195 Angstrom images correspond to about 1.5 million Kelvin (207,000 F), and 284 Angstrom (middle image)is 2 million degrees Kelvin (360,000F). The hotter the temperature, the deeper you look in the solar atmosphere.

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