Solar activity was up for this reporting week, April 6 – 12.
Seven new sunspot groups appeared: one on April 6, another on April 9, two more on April 10, another on April 11, and two more on April 12.
The average daily sunspot number rose from 53.4 to 70.6, and the average daily solar flux increased from 132.5 to 141.
Geomagnetic conditions were calm. The average daily planetary A index dropped from 15 to 7.6, and the middle latitude average dropped from 11.7 to 6.4.
Predicted solar flux is 155 and 160 on April 13 – 14; 165 on April 15 – 16; 160 on April 17 – 18, then 155 and 152 on April 19 – 20; 155 on April 21 – 22; 158 on April 23; 155 on April 24 – 25, then 152, 148, 145, and 142 on April 26 – 29; 140 on April 30 and May 1; 142 and 140 on May 2 – 3; 135 on May 4 – 5, then 130, 140, 145, 150, 152, 155, and 158 on May 6 – 12, and 160 on May 13 – 15.
Predicted planetary A index is 5 on April 13 – 15; 12 on April 16; 8 on April 17 – 18, then 5, 10, 15, and 10 on April 19 – 22; 5 on April 23 – 25, then 15 and 18 on April 26 – 27; 15 on April 28 – 30, then 12 and 10 on May 1 – 2; 8 on May 3 – 4; 5 on May 5 – 6, then 8, 10, and 8 on May 7 – 9, and 5 on May 10 – 13.
Spaceweather.com released this news on Wednesday:
“Evidence is mounting that Solar Cycle 25 might peak much earlier than expected. New research by a leading group of solar physicists predicts maximum sunspot activity in late 2023 or early 2024 with a peak that could be twice as strong as the previous solar cycle.”
It is all explained in this paper:
Look in the Spaceweather.com archive for April 12 – 13 to read more.
I noticed some odd 10-meter propagation at 2000 UTC on April 11. While running FT8 and a one wavelength end-fed wire at my home in Seattle, the only stations that heard me, according to pskreporter.info, were one in New Zealand, another in Hawaii, and only five stations in Florida over a 200-mile strip from 2,512 to 2,712 miles. Checking again at 2015 UTC, it was still the same.
Sunspot numbers for April 6 – 12, 2023, were 33, 38, 49, 52, 92, 103, and 127, with a mean of 70.6. 10.7-centimeter flux was 137.1, 136.3, 135.9, 140.3, 139.8, 143.4, and 154, with a mean of 141. Estimated planetary A indices were 9, 8, 6, 6, 14, 6, and 4, with a mean of 7.6. Middle latitude A index was 7, 7, 5, 5, 11, 6, and 4, with a mean of 6.4.