Is there a solar flare happening right now?

The current GOES X-ray flux and derived flare class are shown live at the top of this page. A/B are background, C is minor, M is moderate, X is major. Anything at M-level or above is worth paying attention to.

What is an M-class or X-class flare?

Flare class is a logarithmic scale of peak soft X-ray flux (1–8 Å band). Each letter step is 10× the previous. M1 = 1e-5 W/m², X1 = 1e-4 W/m². X10 = 1e-3 W/m². Higher = more radio blackout and GPS disruption on the sunlit hemisphere.

How does a solar flare affect Earth?

Within minutes: HF radio (3–30 MHz) is absorbed on the daylight side. GPS accuracy drops briefly. Airline HF communication is degraded on polar routes. Hours to days later: CME-driven geomagnetic storms may follow, driving aurora and grid GIC risk.

Where does the data come from?

NOAA GOES-16 and GOES-18 satellites, XRS-B channel (0.1–0.8 nm long-wavelength X-rays). Coronaut polls the SWPC JSON feed every 60 seconds.

Coronaut · Solar Flare Today

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Live GOES X-ray flux · Updated every 60 seconds

Is there a solar flare today?

Live GOES-16 X-ray flux in the 1–8 Å (long-wavelength) band. A/B is background; C is minor; M is moderate (radio blackout on the sunlit side); X is major (severe blackout, GPS drift, aviation impact). The class updates the moment NOAA publishes.

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The flare-class scale, plain English

A / B

Background

Quiet sun. No radio or GPS impact. Normal HF propagation.

Minor

Small flare. Brief lower-band HF fade on the sunlit side. Higher bands unaffected.

R1 blackout

Moderate flare. Shortwave fadeout on daylight paths for tens of minutes. GPS position jumps possible.

R2+ blackout

Major flare. Complete HF blackout on the sunlit hemisphere for an hour or more. GPS drift, HF airline routing affected. If CME follows, geomagnetic storm 1–3 days later.

Who cares about solar flares

Ham radio operators: M and X flares kill lower-band HF propagation on the daylight side within minutes. Coronaut's Ham lens spells out which bands are workable.

Drone pilots and surveyors: X-class flares cause sudden ionospheric disturbances that make RTK GPS jump for 15–60 minutes. Postpone precision work.

Airlines: polar-route HF radio degrades during M+ flares. Dispatchers may re-route.

Satellite operators: flares increase drag on LEO satellites and cause single-event upsets on electronics.

Frequently asked

How often do flares happen?

Depends on the solar cycle. Near solar maximum (2024–2026), M-class flares happen several times a week and X-class several times a month. During solar minimum, weeks can pass without a C-class.

Does a flare mean a geomagnetic storm follows?

Only if the flare launches a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. Roughly 1 in 3 X-class flares are geoeffective. The Kp index on the main dashboard tells you when a storm actually arrives — 1 to 3 days after the flare.

Can I set a flare alert?

Yes — the Alert Center on the full dashboard has an X-ray class threshold (C / M / X). Browser notification is free; email + push delivery is on the Pro tier ($5/mo).

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