Report for 1/27/12

This week was an exciting one for space weather fans! On Monday, sunspot AR1402 caused an M9-class solar flare followed by a coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME, which hit Earth's magnetic field on Tuesday, caused a geomagnetic storm; the storm created beautiful auroras for sky watchers as far south as South Dakota and Michigan in the US.

Yesterday, a CME was released from the Sun over its north pole, although it is not heading toward Earth. Earth is also safe from the effects of the powerful X2-class flare and CME that sunspot AR1402 unleashed today. This sunspot is on the far side of the Sun, so its recent activity has not been aimed at us.

A solar wind stream is expected to arrive over the weekend, which may cause some disruptions in Earth's magnetic field. What are your predictions for this weekend's space weather? Make your forecast here!

An X2-class solar flare and CME erupted today.