Sun news for March 4-5, 2025. This forecast from the UK Met Office predicts the extent of auroral displays from March 5-8. The forecast starts with a small uptick in geomagnetic activity thanks to the arrival of a coronal mass ejection (CME) last night, then a dip until March 8 when a stream of solar wind from a coronal hole should reach Earth. Image via UK Met Office.
Sun news March 5. A solar blast reached Earth last night
(11 UTC to 11 UTC)
Today’s top story: A great burp of sun-stuff (a coronal mass ejection or CME) hit Earth’s magnetic field last night, as anticipated. Geomagnetic disturbance jumped to the Kp = 4 threshold at 21:36 UTC on March 4, and the CME’s influence may extend through the rest of today. Though a geomagnetic storm wasn’t registered last night, forecasters still expect a G1 (minor) or even a G2 (moderate) storm later today, meaning the potential for auroral displays at high latitudes. Did you see any auroras last night? Share your photos with us.
Sun-Earth highlights in the past day
Flare activity is low, with only C-class flares fired over the past 24 hours. The largest flare event was a C4.5 flare at 15:45 UTC on March 4 from sunspot region AR4012 in the southeast.
Total flares: 13 C-class flares over the past 24 hours.
The number of active regions on the Earth-facing solar disk is eight. Today, only AR4012 shows a moderate-potential beta-gamma configuration, and most of the rest of sunspot regions show a simpler beta complexity. AR3011 has an alpha configuration. There are two newcomers on the Earth-facing side of our star today: AR3015 in the northwest and AR3016 in the southeast.
Blasts from the sun? No new coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been observed in available coronagraph imagery.
Solar wind:Solar winds increased to slightly over 500 km/s (1,118,000 mph) over the past 24 hours due to the arrival of the CME. The interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) increased slightly and the Bz (north/south component) dipped south, which is good for auroras. However, it has now turned northward.
Geomagnetic activity: Our geomagnetic field reached Kp = 4 levels briefly at 21:36 UTC. It has now dipped back to unsettled levels (Kp = 3).
What’s ahead? Sun-Earth forecast
Low-to-moderate flare activity is expected for the next 24 hours, with a chance of isolated M-class (moderate) flares. The chance for M flares is 40%. The chance for X flares is 5% today. These parameters increased due to AR4012’s flare activity and magnetic configuration.
Blasts from the sun? The expected glancing blow of the coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred late yesterday, March 4. Its influence may be extended for the rest of today, March 5.
Geomagnetic activity forecast: A G1 (minor) to G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm is possible later on today due to yesterday’s CME arrival. Activity should return to quiet or unsettled levels on March 6-7 as CME effects subside. Another round of active to minor storm conditions is possible on March 8 due to a stream of high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole.
The auroral forecast from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) for today. Image via NOAA.
A coronal hole that should move into a geoeffective position over the next few days. We expect to feel the impact of its high-speed solar wind around March 8. Image via SDO.
The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with dark spots, each labeled.
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 0 UTC on March 6, 2025. Original image, without labels, via NASA SDO. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky. Today’s sun is posted by Armando Caussade. Why are east and west on the sun reversed?
The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with a mottled surface.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jim Militello in Tucson, Arizona, captured this filtered image of the sun on March 4, 2025. Jim wrote: “Hydrogen-alpha image of the sun is showing active regions, filaments, and prominences.” Thank you, Jim!
Sun news March 4. Beautiful auroras possible tonight
(11 UTC to 11 UTC)
A great burp of sun-stuff (a coronal mass ejection or CME) is expected to glance Earth late today or early tomorrow. It was fired from our star in a filament eruption on March 1. And it could give our planet’s magnetic field a pretty good whack tonight! Forecasters expect this to trigger a G1 (minor) or even a G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm. And that means a good chance for auroras at high latitudes, including areas in Canada, the northern U.S., and Scandinavia. Good luck, and clear skies!
Sun-Earth highlights in the past day
Flare activity still at low over the past 24 hours. The largest flare event was a C3.4 flare at 0:52 UTC on March 4 from sunspot region AR4006 in the southeast.
Total flares: 12 C-class flares were fired over the past 24 hours. Flare productivity increased compared to the previous day, which saw nine Cs.
The number of active regions on the Earth-facing solar disk is currently six. AR4007 has lost its high-potential delta region, and today it shows a lower-potential beta-gamma magnetic configuration along with AR4012. The other sunspot groups are showing simple beta configurations.
Blasts from the sun? No new coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been observed in available coronagraph imagery.
Solar wind:Solar winds were at 420 km/s to ~445 km/s (940,000 mph to ~995,000 mph) over the past 24 hours. The interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) decreased in strength, with the Bz (north/south component) mostly north oriented, meaning less geomagnetic activity.
Geomagnetic activity: Our geomagnetic field has been mostly quiet at Kp 2 levels, with a slight peak near Kp 3.
Sun news for March 3-4, 2025. This is a NOAA computer model showing a coronal mass ejection (CME) expected to glance Earth today (March 4) or tomorrow (March 5). Image via NOAA.
Sun news March 3. A solar burp is heading our way
(11 UTC to 11 UTC)
A filament eruption on March 1 blasted out a great burp of sun-stuff (a coronal mass ejection or CME), and it’s on its way to Earth. It’s expected to give our magnetic field a glancing blow late tomorrow, March 4. This could cause G1 (minor) or G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm conditions. And that could mean auroras at high latitudes, including Canada, the northern U.S. states and northern Europe. Stay tuned!
Sun-Earth highlights in the past day
Flare activity remained low over the past 24 hours. The largest event was a C2.9 flare flare at 9:38 UTC on March 2 from sunspot region 4011 in the southeast.
Total flares: 9 C-class flares over the past 24 hours.
The number of active regions on the Earth-facing solar disk has declined to seven, but five main sunspot groups are showing an increase in complexity.
Blasts from the sun? A filament eruption from the solar southeast at 17:30 UTC on March 1 launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. It’s expected to arrive late on March 4, possibly causing geomagnetic storming.
Solar wind:Solar winds are gradually weakening as the coronal hole high-speed stream wanes. Speeds declined from ~600 km/s to ~445 km/s (1,342,000 mph to 995,437 mph) over the past 24 hours. The interplanetary magnetic field (a critical factor in creating auroras) is decreasing in strength, with the Bz (north/south component) trending weakly northward.
Geomagnetic activity: Our geomagnetic field has been mostly quiet, with no significant disturbances detected.