Free Astronomy Magazine January-February 2026

18 ASTRO PUBLISHING ing at and speed initially estimated around 1500 km/s. By 18:50 UTC the next day, the CME reached Earth, triggering a strong geomagnetic storm that peaked for six hours be- fore decreasing to moderate levels. “In just a few days, one active solar region (NOAA Active Region 14274) produced four solar flares and an equal number of CMEs, three of which were directed towards Earth. The third and most spectacular event occurred on 11 November. In- terestingly, due to individual char- acteristics, it produced a smaller geomagnetic disturbance than ex- pected,” says Juha-Pekka Luntama, Head of ESA’s Space Weather Of- fice. The sequence concluded on 14 November, when the active region JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 S olar activity follows an 11-year cycle, alternating between pe- riods of high or low intensity. In early 2025, our star reached solar maximum, making major solar storms more probable. On 11 No- vember 2025, the Sun unleashed an intense X-class solar flare peaking around 10:04 UTC, followed less than an hour later by a CME travel- The November 2025 solar storm by ESA