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
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Aurora forecasts
Northern Hemisphere
No significant space weather is expected, with aurora sightings unlikely.
Southern Hemisphere
No significant space weather is expected, with aurora sightings unlikely.
Issued at: 20:58 (GMT) on Fri 18 Sep 2026
Forecast overview
Space Weather Forecast Headline: No significant space weather activity expected.
Analysis of Space Weather Activity over past 24 hours
Solar Activity: Solar activity has been Very Low, with only minor Background-class flaring observed. There is only one sunspot region on the visible disc. The un-numbered region is small and unipolar, located in the southwest.
There were no Earth directed coronal mass ejections observed during the period.
Solar Wind / Geomagnetic Activity: Solar winds indicated waning coronal hole fast winds. Solar wind speeds were generally Slightly Elevated, on a slow decline. The Interplanetary Magnetic Field was Weak. The north-south component varied Weakly. Geomagnetic activity was Quiet (Kp 1-2).
Energetic Particles / Solar Radiation: GOES18 >10MeV proton flux was at normal background levels.
Four-Day Space Weather Forecast Summary
Solar Activity: Solar activity is expected to remain Very Low or Low.
Solar Wind / Geomagnetic Activity: Slightly Elevated speeds are expected through Day 1 (18 Sep) with a slow, erratic decline thereafter as the coronal hole fast winds ease.
Geomagnetic activity is expected to be mainly Quiet to Unsettled through the period.
Energetic Particles / Solar Radiation: No solar radiation storms are expected through the period.
Issued at: 12:03 (GMT) on Fri 18 Sep 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: