Sun news for July 21, 2026. These four panels show the fiery debut of new active region AR4493. From left to right and top to bottom: the M2.5 flare at 14:36 UTC, the M1.1 flare at 19:20 UTC, and the M3.4 flare at 22:25 UTC, all on July 20, as captured by the GOES-19 SUVI instrument in its 131 angstrom wavelength channel. The final panel shows the AR4493 sunspot region itself, seen in visible light by NASA SDO’s HMI intensitygram. Images via NOAA and NASA.
Sun news July 21: Newcomer AR4493 is a streak breaker
Today’s top story: AR4493 broke the streak of low-flare activity we were seeing, jumping from C and B flares to three M flares during this period. Remarkably, it emerged from nothing in the northeast quadrant. Then, within the same day, it developed a beta-gamma-delta magnetic complexity, the strongest there is. Moreover, it produced all the flares of the day but one. Its tally: all three M flares plus a long list of C flares, making it the lead flare producer of the period. Stay tuned!
Past 24 hours on the sun
(11 UTC July 20 – 11 UTC July 21)
Flare activity: Solar activity increased from low to moderate levels over the past day thanks to three M flares. Flare production also registered a notable jump. Yesterday, the sun fired just three C-class (common) flares and one B-class (weak) event. This period, it fired 18 flares: 3 M-class plus another 15 C flares.
- Strongest flare: An M3.4 at 22:25 UTC on July 20 from active region AR4493. An R1 (minor) radio blackout accompanied the M flare, affecting an area over Hawaii.
- Other M flares: An M2.5 at 14:36 UTC on July 20 from AR4493 triggered an R1 (minor) radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean. Later, an M1.1 at 19:20 UTC on July 20, also from AR4493, produced an R1 (minor) radio blackout over Baja California in Mexico.
Sunspot regions: Currently, the sun shows 4 numbered active regions on the side we see from Earth. Among them is a newcomer, now numbered AR4493.
- AR4489 (beta): This region lost its gamma configuration. It also began to show signs of decay. It produced no flares during this period.
- AR4493 (beta-gamma-delta): The unnumbered region in the east we mentioned yesterday emerged from nothing and continued growing. It now shows the strongest complexity there is.
- AR4492 (beta-gamma): This active region underwent notable growth. In addition, it developed a gamma configuration. It produced one C flare.
- AR4491 (alpha): This region showed some decay. Consequently, it reduced from its beta to an alpha configuration today.
Blasts from the sun? The coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produced during the three M flares of this period remain under modeling and analysis. Forecasters are working to determine any Earth-directed component.
Past 24 hours in space weather
Solar wind: Solar wind conditions averaged background levels throughout most of the period. However, at 7:30 UTC this morning, speeds increased to moderate levels. The arrival of fast solar wind from a coronal hole, combined with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), caused this rise.
Bt, Bz and magnetic coupling: The interplanetary magnetic field showed similar behavior. It stayed weak during almost the entire period. Then, at 6:30 UTC this morning, the Bt component started to increase. By the end of the period, it showed strong levels. Meanwhile, the Bz component pointed southward the whole period. A sustained south-oriented Bz component may drive geomagnetic activity. In short, the calm is passing. The coronal hole’s fast wind is arriving.
Earth’s magnetic field: Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet to unsettled during this period, with Kp values of just 1–3. No geomagnetic storm conditions occurred. Auroras remained confined to the highest latitudes around the auroral oval. At the moment of this writing, the Kp index sits at level 3.
What’s ahead? Sun–Earth forecast
Flare activity forecast: Forecasters expect low-to-moderate levels through July 21–22, with increased chances of M-class (moderate) flare activity. The main candidates include AR4493, the most magnetically complex region currently on disk with its beta-gamma-delta configuration, and AR4492, which has developed gamma complexity. Furthermore, new regions are rotating onto the northeast disk.
M-class chances increased to 55% today. Likewise, X-class (strong) flare chances rose to 5% today.
Geomagnetic activity forecast:
- July 21: Anticipate quiet-to-unsettled conditions through most of the day. Late on July 21, a co-rotating interaction region ahead of a negative-polarity coronal hole high-speed stream will likely arrive. This will enhance the solar wind environment. Consequently, unsettled-to-active conditions are expected by late in the day, with a chance for G1 (minor) storm levels near the end of the period. Minor auroral enhancements are possible, perhaps reaching northern Scotland, southern Alaska, and similar magnetic latitudes. However, Northern Hemisphere summer twilight will severely limit visual sightings.
- July 22: Expect unsettled-to-active periods. G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm conditions may persist throughout the day and are likely to occur. Kp values of 4–5 are possible. If conditions align, aurora may appear over Seattle, Edinburgh, southern Scandinavia and Hobart (Tasmania). Southern Hemisphere observers have the advantage of longer winter nights.
- July 23: Conditions may gradually ease later in the day as the stream wanes.
Sun news for July 21, 2026. This image shows the large transequatorial coronal hole, the dark region spanning the sun’s equator, in its atmosphere or corona. Its fast solar wind stream is arriving now and could spark G1 (minor) geomagnetic storms and auroras on July 22. The GOES-19 SUVI instrument captured this view in its 193 angstrom wavelength channel. Image via NOAA.
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 2 UTC on July 21, 2026. Original image, without labels, via NASA SDO. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, with labeling by EarthSky. Armando Caussade posted today’s sun. Why are east and west on the sun reversed?
Sun news July 20: Fast solar wind on its way to Earth
Today’s top story: A large coronal hole we saw a couple of weeks ago has passed around the far side of the sun and returned to our star’s Earth-facing side. This “hole” in the sun’s outer atmosphere has just crossed the center of the solar disk. That means the fast solar wind streaming from it is on its way to our planet, and should reach our magnetic field late on July 21. As a result, geomagnetic activity could climb to G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm levels by July 22. Stay tuned!
Past 24 hours on the sun
(11 UTC July 19 – 11 UTC July 20)
Flare activity: Solar activity remained low over the past day. Observers recorded three C-class (common) flares and one B-class (weak) event.
- Strongest flare: A C2.1 from an as-yet unnumbered region at 7:39 UTC on July 20.
- Other flares: A C1.9 occurred at 18:48 UTC on July 19, followed by a C1.3 at 18:25 UTC on July 19. Both came from a region just beyond the southeast limb.
- The three numbered regions on the visible disk stayed largely inactive throughout the period. Instead, action on the horizon accounted for most of the flaring.
Sunspot regions: The Earth-facing solar disk displayed three numbered active regions.
- AR4489 (beta-gamma): The most magnetically complex region on the disk. It sits in the south-central area. During the period, it underwent slight development and an increase in magnetic complexity. Even so, it stayed largely inactive in terms of flare production.
- Meanwhile, forecasters noted a new, unnumbered region in the east. It shows continued growth.
- The remaining numbered regions stayed mostly unchanged and quiet. They contributed no significant flare activity.
- Finally, active regions beyond the southeast limb continued to produce C-class flares. This suggests potentially significant activity may rotate into view in the coming days.
Blasts from the sun? Forecasters cataloged four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) during the period. However, none should impact Earth.
Past 24 hours in space weather
Solar wind: Solar wind conditions remained at background levels throughout the period.
Bt, Bz and magnetic coupling: The interplanetary magnetic field stayed weak. The Bz component fluctuated gently between moderately northward and southward, but the southward dips were not sustained enough to drive geomagnetic activity. These are textbook quiet solar wind conditions: the calm before the coronal hole wind arrives.
Earth’s magnetic field: Earth’s magnetic field stayed quiet throughout the entire period, with Kp values of just 0–2. No geomagnetic storm conditions occurred. Auroras remained confined to the highest latitudes around the auroral oval. Moreover, the short summer nights in the Northern Hemisphere further limited any visibility.
What’s ahead? Sun–Earth forecast
Flare activity forecast: Forecasters expect low levels to continue through July 20–22, though with a slight chance of M-class (moderate) flare activity. The main candidates for any uptick include AR4489, the most magnetically complex region currently on disk with its beta-gamma configuration, plus the new regions rotating onto the northeast disk.
C-class flares are deemed very likely (50% or greater probability), with a smaller chance for M-class events. X-class (strong) flares are not expected at this time.
Geomagnetic activity forecast:
- July 20: Expect quiet conditions to persist under the slow solar wind environment. Kp 0–2 is likely.
- July 21: Anticipate quiet-to-unsettled conditions through most of the day. Late on July 21, a co-rotating interaction region ahead of a negative-polarity coronal hole high-speed stream will likely arrive. This will enhance the solar wind environment. Consequently, unsettled-to-active conditions are expected by late in the day, with a chance for G1 (minor) storm levels near the end of the period. Minor auroral enhancements are possible, perhaps reaching northern Scotland, southern Alaska and similar magnetic latitudes. However, Northern Hemisphere summer twilight will severely limit visual sightings.
- July 22: Expect unsettled-to-active periods, with G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm levels likely. Kp values of 4–5 are possible. If conditions align, aurora may appear over Seattle, Edinburgh, southern Scandinavia and Hobart (Tasmania). Southern Hemisphere observers have the advantage of longer winter nights. Conditions may gradually ease later in the day or into July 23 as the stream wanes.
Sun news for July 20, 2026. The solar wind is currently calm, but we’re expecting bursts of high-speed wind from a coronal hole. That’s a region where the sun’s magnetic field opens up into space, allowing the super-hot atmosphere to stream more easily from the sun, giving us the fast solar wind. This artist’s animation shows the coronal hole blowing the fast wind toward Earth and its magnetic field (not to scale). Images via NASA/ SVS.
The sun in recent days
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 2 UTC on July 20, 2026. Image via NASA/ SDO.
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 1 UTC on July 19, 2026. Image via NASA/ SDO.
This image shows sun activity – with the most active regions labeled – as of 2 UTC on July 18, 2026. Image via NASA/ SDO.
Sun images from our community
View at EarthSky Community Photos. \| EarthSky’s own Raúl Cortés in Monterrey, Mexico, captured this filtered image on July 20, 2026. Raúl wrote: “Sunspot regions AR4492, AR4493 and AR4489.” Thank you, Raúl!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. \| Victor Rogus in Sedona, Arizona, captured this filtered image on July 20, 2026. Victor wrote: “There are three numbered sunspots on the solar disk this morning. All of these sunspots have stable magnetic fields unlikely to flare. Seen through partly cloudy skies and haze this morning.” Thank you, Victor!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. \| Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, captured these filtered images on July 19, 2026. Mario wrote: “The sun in hydrogen-alpha, helium D3 and sodium D2.” Thank you, Mario!
We sometimes feature sun images obtained using hydrogen-alpha filters. Read why.
Bottom line: Sun news July 21, 2026: New sunspot region AR4493 emerged from nothing, gained top magnetic complexity, and fired 3 M flares in a day. More could be coming!
C. Alex Young
About the Author:
C. Alex Young is a solar astrophysicist studying the Sun and space weather. Alex is passionate about sharing science with diverse audiences. This led him to start The Sun Today with his designer wife, Linda. First through Facebook and Twitter then adding an extensive website thesuntoday.org, the two work together to engage the public about the Sun and its role in our solar system. Alex led national engagement efforts for the 2017 total solar eclipse. He is the Associate Director for Science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Armando Caussade
About the Author:
Armando is known primarily as an astronomy educator, after 30+ years of extensive public outreach and 10 years teaching in colleges. As one of only a handful of science communicators in Puerto Rico during Comet Halley's last visit, he assumed a pioneering role starting in 1985 when science was just beginning to enter the collective mindset. Over the years, his work as a teacher, speaker and writer, inspired people to pursue interests in science and brought enduring change to Puerto Rican culture. After being accepted into the 2014–2015 Antarctic season of PolarTREC, Armando was assigned to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where in 2015 he successfully conducted 10 days of work at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. His affiliations include Ana G. Méndez University, Cupey campus (2014 to 2021), the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla campus (2015 to 2017), NASA JPL's Solar System Ambassadors (2004 to 2006), and NASA Space Grant (2017 to 2019) where he served as an affiliate representative.
About the Author:
Raúl Cortés studied engineering at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico, obtained a scholarship to continue his studies in Japan and after returning to Monterrey he got credits on MBA from the Graduate School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Faculty. He became a teacher at the University UANL teaching Math and Physics and dedicated the rest of his professional career to serve in engineering areas for USA, Japan and Germany based corporations. His passion for the skies go back to when he was a child, always intrigued about the stars and constellations and reading and researching about the matter. From 2010 on, he dedicated his attention to photographing the stars, constellations, the moon and the sun. Raúl's work on his photography has been published and posted on the ESC as well as in other platforms and has gained attention to be published by local Monterrey newspapers.