Viewing archive of Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Solar activity report
Any mentioned solar flare in this report has a scaling factor applied by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). Because of the SWPC scaling factor, solar flares are reported as 42% smaller than for the science quality data. The scaling factor has been removed from our archived solar flare data to reflect the true physical units.
Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity 2012 Jan 17 2200 UTCPrepared by the NOAA © SWPC and processed by SpaceWeatherLive.com
Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity
SDF Number 017 Issued at 2200Z on 17 Jan 2012IA. Analysis of Solar Active Regions and Activity from 16-2100Z to 17-2100Z Solar activity reached moderate levels. Region 1401
(N18E38) produced an M1/1n at 17/0453Z. The other significant spot
group, Region 1402 (N28E40), was quiet during the period. Both
regions continued their growth phase in area and magnetic complexity
and are both classified E-type Beta-Gamma groups. New Region 1406
(S23W55) emerged on the disk as a D-type group.
IB. Solar Activity Forecast
Solar activity is expected to be at
predominately low levels with a chance for M-class activity for the
next three days (18 - 20 January).
IIA. Geophysical Activity Summary 16-2100Z to 17-2100Z
The geomagnetic field was at quiet to unsettled levels. Solar wind
velocities, as measured at the ACE satellite, steadily decayed
during the past 24 hours from a high of near 500 km/s to a low of
about 400 km/s at the end of the period. The Bz component of the
interplanetary magnetic field did not vary much beyond +/- 4 nT.
IIB. Geophysical Activity Forecast
The geomagnetic field is
expected to be at mostly quiet levels through day one and most of
day two (18 - 19 January). By late on day two and through day three
(20 January), the field is expected to increase to quiet to
unsettled conditions, with isolated active periods. This activity
is due to the anticipated effects from a glancing blow as a result
of the 16 January CME.
III. Event Probabilities 18 Jan to 20 Jan
| Class M | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Class X | 05% | 05% | 05% |
| Proton | 05% | 05% | 05% |
| PCAF | green | ||
IV. Penticton 10.7 cm Flux
Observed 17 Jan 139 Predicted 18 Jan-20 Jan 145/150/155 90 Day Mean 17 Jan 144
V. Geomagnetic A Indices
Observed Afr/Ap 16 Jan 008/008 Estimated Afr/Ap 17 Jan 005/005 Predicted Afr/Ap 18 Jan-20 Jan 004/005-006/006-007/008
VI. Geomagnetic Activity Probabilities 18 Jan to 20 Jan
| A. Middle Latitudes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | 05% | 05% | 10% |
| Minor storm | 01% | 01% | 05% |
| Major-severe storm | 01% | 01% | 01% |
| B. High Latitudes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| Minor storm | 15% | 15% | 20% |
| Major-severe storm | 05% | 05% | 20% |
All times in UTC
Latest news
Monday, 30 March 2026
X1.5 solar flare
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
M2.7 solar flare, CME arrival possible
Sunday, 1 February 2026
Complex sunspot region 4366
Latest forum messages
AR4413 11Space Weather Memes 819JHelioviewer Tips and Settings 50AR4409 183Unspecified geomagnetic activity 137
More topicsSupport SpaceWeatherLive.com!
A lot of people come to SpaceWeatherLive to follow the Solar activity or if there is a chance to see the aurora, but with more traffic comes higher costs to keep the servers online. If you like SpaceWeatherLive and want to support the project you can choose a subscription for an ad-free site or consider a donation. With your help we can keep SpaceWeatherLive online!
Space weather facts
| Last X-flare | 2026/03/30 | X1.5 |
| Last M-flare | 2026/04/04 | M1.0 |
| Last geomagnetic storm | 2026/04/03 | Kp7- (G3) |
| Spotless days | |
|---|---|
| Last 365 days | 3 days |
| 2026 | 3 days (3%) |
| Last spotless day | 2026/02/24 |
| Monthly mean Sunspot Number | |
|---|---|
| March 2026 | 85.9 +7.7 |
| April 2026 | 121 +35.1 |
| Last 30 days | 102.1 +47 |
This day in history*
Aurora on this day in history
No observations submitted for this day in history. If you've observed the aurora and you have some amazing photos to show off, submit your observations now!
Submit your aurora observation