Solar Storm Fake Out & Big Flare Players Near | Solar Storm Forecast 07.17.2021

This week our Star really fakes us out with two big solar storm launches on the Sun’s farside. Although these storms are not Earth-directed, they are a clear indicator that Solar Cycle 25 is now well underway. The big flare players we saw just two weeks ago are obviously still alive and kicking and as they rotate back into Earth-view over this next week, no doubt we will see a lot more activity. As it is, we are already seeing multiple solar storm launches in a single day just from STEREO’s view. In fact, there are so many, it’s a bit hard to keep track of them all. This means aurora photographers might soon be getting a treat over the next two weeks while amateur radio operators will enjoy better propagation (albeit with a bit more noise on the bands) on Earth’s dayside. Of course, this also means the risk of radio blackouts will also increase so GPS users will need to keep that in mind as there might be degraded GPS reception near dawn and dusk over the next two weeks. Learn the details of the recent big solar storm launches, see the rise of region 2844, and find out what else our Sun has in store this week!