The solar activity was at high levels in February. There were 4 M-class and 10 C-class flares, 17 C-type CMEs, and 1 R-type CME! Additionally, 6 radiation belt enhancements, 10 interplanetary shocks, and 7 high-speed streams were recorded!
On January 29, at the AR12936 which was nearly facing Earth, an M1.1 flare was observed with a C-type CME with a speed of 628 km/s. This activity caused an interplanetary shock on the 1st of February and caused Kp level to increase to 5 in the following days. The impact of the CME lasted in the following days, and magnetopause crossing and radiation belt enhancement were observed on 3rd and 4th, respectively. Moreover, the latter effects of the geomagnetic storm caused 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites to be lost. This surprising consequence was not expected since it was a minor storm, yet the heating of the upper atmosphere caused an unfortunate drag effect on satellites. The images below show the activity on January 29. The image on the left shows the flare peak time AR12936 from SDO AIA 131, and the image on the right shows the CME eruption observed from SOHO LASCO C2 coronograph.
On the 6th of February, another Earth-directed C-type CME with a speed of 555 km/s was observed with a C3.1 flare from the AR12939. This CME was observed as a filament eruption on SDO AIA 304 imagery which caused an interplanetary shock on the 9th and a radiation belt enhancement on the 10th. The strength of the geomagnetic storm was minor, with maximum KP level 5. The images below show the flare at AR12939 from SDO AIA 131 and the filament eruption observed from SOHO LASCO C2 coronograph.
A rare type CME is also observed yet fortunately it was not Earth-directed! The CME had a 2554 km/s speed and was directed to Jupiter. The CME can be seen on the right which was observed from SOHO LASCO C2 coronograph imagery. It was one of the most important events of this solar cycle. It seems like the solar activities will be at high levels throughout this solar cycle!
Forecaster: Ezgi Gülay
MSc. Student
Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, ITU
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