Big Flares, Mini-Storms & A Whole Lot of Eye Candy | Solar Storm Forecast 10 December 2023

This week our Sun steps into high gear. We have multiple glancing solar storm blows along with a pocket of fast solar wind on its way. Aurora photographers at high latitudes should get a nice show, but it may not be enough for mid-latitude photographers. That being said, with active regions 3511 and 3513 showing significant flare activity and lots of filaments on the disk poised to erupt, it is very possible one of these filaments will be destabilized enough to launch into a solar storm towards Earth later this week. Amateur radio operators and GPS users should plan for moderate radio noise and short-lived radio blackouts on the dayside of Earth, up to the R2-level. Chances for R3-level radio blackouts have been increasing slightly over the past few days, but overall, conditions should begin to calm down once region 3511 rotates to the Sun’s farside in the next few days. Learn the details of the coming fast solar wind, watch some gorgeous solar storm eye candy and catch up on some stunning aurora photos from the recent G3-level solar storm.