A Mini Solar Storm with a Fast Wind Chaser | Space Weather News 02.20.2020

This week our Sun gives us a surprise boost in activity as a weak solar storm conspires with some fast solar wind and bumps us up to solar storm conditions for a short while. Aurora photographers have been reporting aurora visible in the upper mid-latitudes and high latitude watchers have been greeted by some dazzling shows. With more fast solar wind on the way, high-latitudes could continue having active aurora in through the weekend. As for radio communications, the sun remains spotless so we are remaining at the low end of marginal for radio propagation. Solar flux will likely hold steady in the low 70s over this next week. At least GPS users should enjoy decent GPS reception on Earth’s dayside, but nightside reception might suffer, especially near aurora and near dawn and dusk. Learn the details of the ongoing solar storm, where and when aurora is visible, and what else our Sun has in store this week.