Sunspot region 2712

Monday, 28 May 2018 17:51 UTC

Small sunspot region 2712 has been developing steadily today and starting to produce a couple of minor solar flares. A C3.3 solar flare peaking at 17:14 UTC being the strongest event thus far. This group is not capable of producing M or X-class solar flares as it is right now so hold your horses, do not get excited just yet but it's a welcome sight to see some spikes on the X-ray charts now that we are closing in on solar minimum.

Image: Plot showing the Sun's X-ray output during the past 24 hours. Note the increase in activity during the second half of 28 May.

Sunspot region 2712 remains a fairly small and simple region at the time of writing but its a positive sign to see a sunspot region slowly develop. There is potential for a Beta-Gamma magnetic layout to develop if this trend continues as there is some mixed flux development among the trailing sunspots. Something to watch out for during these quiet times.

Image: Sunspot region 2712 as seen in visible light as captured at 17:30 UTC on 28 May by SDO/HMI.

We also have a coronal hole facing our planet in the near future but that's something we will be discussing later on. Keep an eye out for that!