Space Weather
Space weather describes changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space. Magnetic fields, radiation, particles and matter, which have been ejected from the Sun, can interact with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and surrounding magnetic field to produce a variety of effects.
Space weather notifications
There are currently no active notifications.
Aurora forecasts
Northern Hemisphere
No significant auroral enhancements are expected through the period, although there is a small chance of a slight enhancement during the night of 8th August. Where skies are clear aurora sightings may occur at high geomagnetic latitudes, during the limited hours of darkness.
Southern Hemisphere
No significant auroral enhancements are expected through the period, although there is a small chance of a slight enhancement during the southern hemisphere night of 8th August. Where skies are clear aurora sightings may occur at high geomagnetic latitudes.
Issued at: 00:39 (GMT) on Fri 7 Aug 2026
Forecast overview
Space Weather Forecast Headline: Slight chance of isolated Moderate-class flares.
Analysis of Space Weather Activity over past 24 hours
Solar Activity: Solar activity has been Low in the last 24 hours, with only one Common class flare observed, peaking at 06/1929 UTC from a new small, weak and magnetically simple region in the southeast.
There are currently four other regions on the visible disc, these all numbered. These regions are magnetically simple, relatively stable with no significant changes, weak and mostly small.
No Earth directed Coronal Mass Ejections were observed in available imagery.
Solar Wind / Geomagnetic Activity: Solar wind speeds were Background and on a slow downward trend. The strength of the solar winds magnetic field was weak, and the important north-south component was predominantly weakly negative before becoming largely neutral late in the day. Geomagnetic activity was Quiet.
Energetic Particles / Solar Radiation: GOES18 >10MeV proton flux is at background.
Four-Day Space Weather Forecast Summary
Solar Activity: Low to Very Low solar activity is expected to continue with just a slight chance of an isolated M-class flare.
Solar Wind / Geomagnetic Activity: Two slow Coronal Mass Ejections were detected on 03 Aug, though these are expected to miss Earth. A wide CME from the northwest was detected on 04 Aug, which may give a possible glancing blow Day 2 (08 Aug).
Solar winds are Slow-Ambient, and likely to remain at similar levels through much of the period. A small coronal hole evident in the southwest, is likely to be a little too far south to influence the current forecast, though should this connect with Earth it may give a slight enhancement to Slightly elevated levels on Day 2 (08 Aug) and early Day 3 (09 Aug) with Background levels returning by the end of the period.
Quiet geomagnetic activity is expected to persist until any weak CME or coronal whole influence arrival occurs, then probably increasing Unsettled to Active intervals. There is a slight chance of an isolated Minor Geomagnetic Storm intervals late Day 2 into early Day 3 (08 and 09 Aug). Through Day 4 geomagnetic activity is expected to decline to predominantly Quiet levels.
Energetic Particles / Solar Radiation: GOES18 >10MeV proton flux is expected to continue at Background.
Issued at: 00:15 (GMT) on Fri 7 Aug 2026
Solar imagery
SDO AIA-193
This channel highlights the outer atmosphere of the Sun - called the corona - as well as hot flare plasma. Hot active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections will appear bright here. The dark areas - called coronal holes - are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles.
Issued at:
SDO AIA-304
This channel is especially good at showing areas where cooler dense plumes of plasma (filaments and prominences) are located above the visible surface of the Sun. Many of these features either can't be seen or appear as dark lines in the other channels. The bright areas show places where the plasma has a high density.
Issued at: