C7.4 solar flare
Monday, 7 December 2020 19:45 UTC
Solar activity has been fairly boring during the past few days but a surprise solar flare woke us up. A long duration C7.41 solar flare peaked today at 16:32 UTC. Sunspot region 2790 is to blame and that is a sunspot region facing Earth! Long duration solar flares are known to produce coronal mass ejections so the question is... was this an eruptive event?
The answer to that question is a huge yes! It became quickly apparent that this long duration solar flare would be eruptive. A huge amount of coronal dimming was observed which is an excellent sign that a coronal mass ejection was launched during the event.
Indeed a large coronal mass ejection became visible on STEREO A. We do not have the earth-facing coronagraph imagery yet from SOHO but considering the location of sunspot region 2790 and the extend of the coronal mass ejection on STEREO A we think it is very likely that this coronal mass ejection has an earth-directed component. We will return with more news when the coronagraph imagery from SOHO becomes available.
A great look at the C7.4 flare that just took place from sunspot region 2790. More updates in the hours to come. Follow live on https://t.co/XHATH0OOfT pic.twitter.com/FQN1Ytq5w2
— SpaceWeatherLive (@_SpaceWeather_) December 7, 2020
Today's C7.4 solar flare from sunspot region 2790 is eruptive and a coronal mass ejection can be seen on images from STEREO A. This coronal mass ejection is very likely to have an earth-directed component. More info later when SOHO coronagraph imagery becomes available. pic.twitter.com/xABs4egM2E
— SpaceWeatherLive (@_SpaceWeather_) December 7, 2020
Thank you for reading this article! Did you have any trouble with the technical terms used in this article? Our help section is the place to be where you can find in-depth articles, a FAQ and a list with common abbreviations. Still puzzled? Just post on our forum where we will help you the best we can!
Current data suggests there is a slight possibility for aurora to appear at the following high latitude regions in the near future
NuukTórshavn
Oulu, Rovaniemi, Sodankylä, Utsjoki
Reykjavik
Kirkenes, Tromsø, Trondheim
Murmansk
Kiruna, Luleå
Latest news
X1.1 solar flare
Coronal hole faces Earth
Strong G3 geomagnetic storm watch for 23 March
Latest forum messages
Support SpaceWeatherLive.com!
A lot of people come to SpaceWeatherLive to follow the Sun's activity or if there is aurora to be seen, but with more traffic comes higher server costs. Consider a donation if you enjoy SpaceWeatherLive so we can keep the website online!
Latest alerts
00:00 UTC - Solar flare
Moderate M1.79 flare
Friday, 28 March 2025
23:36 UTC - Radio Blackout
Minor R1 radio blackout in progress (≥M1 - current: M1.04)
21:24 UTC - Hemispheric Power Index
The OVATION model predicts the Hemispheric Power Index to reach 51GW at 21:59 UTC
19:45 UTC - Solar flare
Moderate M1.16 flare
19:27 UTC - Radio Blackout
Minor R1 radio blackout in progress (≥M1 - current: M1.1)
Space weather facts
| Last X-flare | 2025/03/28 | X1.1 |
| Last M-flare | 2025/03/28 | M1.1 |
| Last geomagnetic storm | 2025/03/27 | Kp5 (G1) |
| Spotless days | |
|---|---|
| Last spotless day | 2022/06/08 |
| Monthly mean Sunspot Number | |
|---|---|
| February 2025 | 154.6 +17.6 |
| March 2025 | 130 -24.6 |
| Last 30 days | 130 -21.9 |