Sunspot Has Produced M-Class Flares, But No CMEs

Due to current issues on the SOHO spacecraft, the LASCO instrument was not taking data during this event. This instrument is used to develop the near real-time coronal mass ejections alerts. The STEREO beacon data is now coming online and indicates a possible small coronal mass ejection. A preliminary indication of its direction indicates a low likelihood of any geomagnetic storms at Earth.

A particularly large and complex sunspot appeared over the left limb of the sun on Saturday, May 5, beginning its two-week trek across the face of the star in conjunction with the sun's rotation. The sunspot, dubbed Active Region 1476, has so far produced seven M-class flares and numerous C-class flares, including two M-class flares on May 9, 2012 that peaked at 8:32 EDT and 10:08 EDT. These flares were all short-lived and there were no associated coronal mass ejections, so we do not expect any geomagnetic storms at Earth.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News050912-Mflares.html