Northern Lights Forecast Over Canada on Thursday Night
The Aurora Borealis may be visible dancing across the sky! A highly active region on the Sun, producing flares and solar storms, is leading to intense space weather in the coming nights.
Recent Solar Activity
In recent weeks, solar astronomers and space weather enthusiasts have observed a remarkable series of eruptions from the Sun. These coronal mass ejections, or solar storms, mostly originated from the far side of the Sun or were directed away from Earth. All of these events were linked to a single group of sunspots called Active Region 4274, which has recently rotated into view along the Sun's eastern edge.
Sun Observations and Imaging
The SUVI instrument on NOAA's GOES-19 weather satellite captured an image showing several bright active regions on the Sun as of November. Within this view, a subtle darker area marks the location of a large coronal hole.
Four inset images, taken by the NASA/ESA SOHO spacecraft using the LASCO C3 coronagraph, display four significant coronal mass ejections attributed to AR 4274, clearly labeled in yellow.
NOAA, NASA/ESA, Scott Sutherland
Notable Solar Flare on November 4
On the morning of November 4, AR 4274 released a powerful solar flare classified as X1.8. This flare is the strongest recorded since the X1.9 flare on June 19 and ranks as the fifth strongest solar flare of 2025 so far.
"Measured as an X1.8-class flare, it is the strongest we've seen from the Sun since the X1.9 flare on June 19."
These solar events increase the likelihood of visible auroras over Canada during the following nights.
Summary: Intense solar activity from Active Region 4274 is producing powerful flares and solar storms, promising a vivid Northern Lights display over Canada this Thursday night.
Would you like the summary to be more technical or more accessible?