Solar Update / Aurora Watch (March 5)

[Luke]

Solar activity remained fairly low on Saturday despite the large sunspots on the earth facing side of the sun. Only C-Class activity took place. There is an increasing chance for an M-Class flare, especially around Sunspot 1164. In the southern hemisphere Sunspot 1165 continues to show some growth. Sunspot 1166 remains a large sunspot and is capable of producing atleast C-Class flares. The solar flux of 135 on Saturday was a new record for Cycle 24 and the highest it has been since Jan 17, 2005. The Sunspot number of 114 was also a new high.An Aurora watch is in effect for the next 24 hours. It is possible that a small Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that took place on Thursday will reach earth by Sunday and this could trigger minor geomagnetic storming at high latitudes.

http://www.solarcycle24.com/index.htm