Here are today’s solar images taken from Al Sadeem Observatory, February 9, 2018.
The sky was clear with light air turbulence making the seeing and transparency good at the time these images were taken.
The lone visible sunspot group AR2699 has grown slightly in structure; developed few more sunspots and continues to produce multiple B-class flares over the past 24 hours. The latest sunspot number (based on visual count and Wolf number calculation) is 22. Few small filaments and prominences were distinctively captured in H-alpha imagery.
Currently possessing beta-gamma magnetic configuration, space weather agencies* forecast solar activity to remain at low levels with chances of further B-class to C-class (possibly up to M-class) solar flares in the next few days mainly from AR2699. The extent of the frequency and intensity of the Sun’s activity will highly depend on the magnetic flux fluctuations happening in the visible ARs in the coming days. Close monitoring is being conducted by numerous space weather agencies for any significant development.
*Technical reports courtesy of Solar Influence Data Center (SIDC), NOAA-Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA-SWPC)