Moderate M1.8 solar flare erupts at 08:05 UTC on August 20, 2026

A moderate M1.8 solar flare erupted at 08:05 UTC on August 20, 2026. This event began at 07:31 UTC and ended at 08:17 UTC.

Today’s flares include the M1.8 flare peaking at 08:05 UTC, along with several C-class events: C1.7 at 00:49 UTC (AR 4513), C2.0 at 01:04 UTC (AR 4513), C1.5 at 03:43 UTC (AR 4513), C3.3 at 04:08 UTC (AR 4507), C3.1 at 04:49 UTC (AR 4513), and C1.5 at 06:31 UTC (AR 4507).

In 24 hours to 00:30 UTC on August 20, solar activity reached moderate levels. The most notable event was an M1.0 flare on August 19. The majority of regions were stable or decaying, and no Earth-directed CMEs were observed.

Solar activity is expected to remain at low levels from August 20 to 22, with a continued chance for M-class flares (R1 – Minor to R2 – Moderate).

Active sunspot regions presently observed on the Earth-facing solar disk include AR 4506 (N12W86 – Beta), AR 4507 (N04W69 – Beta-Gamma-Delta), AR 4508 (N08W37 – Beta), AR 4510 (N12W95 – Beta), and AR 4513 (N03E81 – Beta).

Over the past 24 hours, the greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit remained at normal to moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux was at background levels. The electron flux may reach high levels on August 20, with high levels likely on August 21 to 22 due to coronal hole high-speed stream influences. The proton flux is expected to remain at background levels through August 22.

Solar wind parameters reflected waning influence of a negative polarity coronal hole high-speed stream, with magnetic field strength of 2-9 nT, maximum Bz southward of -7 nT, and speeds between 530 and 630 km/s. This influence is expected to continue through August 22.

The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to G1 – Minor storm levels over the past 24 hours. The geomagnetic field is likely to reach active levels over August 20 to 22 during the waning phase of the coronal hole high-speed stream.