STRONG SOLAR FLARE ALERT:
A strong solar flare reaching M5.6 took place at 10:52 UTC Monday morning.
The flare was centered around Sunspot 1515.
Sunspot Growth
A new sunspot is quickly forming in the northeast quadrant and is located just to the northeast of Sunspot 1516. So far it does not look to be magnetically complex, however it is still early in the growth process and things may soon change.
UPDATE: This new sunspot was numbered 1517 on Sunday. So far this region is currently stable.
Updated 7/2/2012 @ 04:10 UTC
Solar Update / Aurora Watch
Solar activity continued at moderate levels on Sunday with a pair of M-Class flares around Sunspot 1513. The largest of these events was an M2.8 flare at 19:18 UTC Sunday afternoon. Sunspot 1515 located in the southern hemisphere is largest region on the visible solar disk, but has so far only produced C-Class solar flares. Both 1513 and 1515 retain Beta-Gamma magnetic configurations and may produce additonal M-Class flares on Monday.
The solar wind remains above 600 km/s and minor geomagnetic activity will be possible at very high latitudes. Visible aurora will be possible around the polar regions.
Current Visible Sunspots (Saturday) - Big Bear / GONG
Sunspot 1515 and Prominences (Saturday) - Ron Cottrell
