Bright Region Fireworks & Chance for Aurora | Solar Storm Forecast 05.18.2020

Space Weather gets a bit lively this week starting with some spectacular prominence action on the east limb of the Sun. In addition, our Sun launches a solar storm, which looks like it will go just to the west of Earth, but it could very well enhance the fast solar wind expected to hit over the next couple of days. Aurora photographers, especially at high latitudes could be in for a show. By far the biggest story this week is the appearance of two new bright regions in Earth view. Both of these regions could be signs of the new solar cycle, especially the northern hemisphere region, which has been putting on a nice display of coronal rain as it rotates into view. Although this region has launched several solar storms while on the Sun’s farside, it seems to be dissipating now so we may not see much more activity from it. At least these regions are boosting the solar flux back into the marginal range for radio propagation so radio operators can enjoy a boost in propagation over the next few days. Learn the details of the coming fast solar wind, the near miss of the coming solar storm, and how the new bright regions on the Sun might affect you this week.