:Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
:Issued: 2000 May 24 2112 UT
HIGHLIGHTS OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY
15 - 21 MAY 2000

SOLAR ACTIVITY RANGED FROM LOW TO MODERATE LEVELS WITH A SINGLE
PERIOD OF HIGH ACTIVITY ON 15 MAY. THIS HIGH ACTIVITY LEVEL WAS DUE
TO SIX M-CLASS EVENTS THAT OCCURRED WITHIN A 24-HOUR PERIOD ON 15
MAY (SEE THE ENERGETIC EVENT SUMMARY FOR FLARE TIMES). REGIONS 8993
(S21, L = 086, CLASS/AREA EAO/240 ON 15 MAY), 8998 (S14, L = 333,
CLASS/AREA FKI/470 ON 15 MAY), AND 9002 (N18, L = 304, CLASS/AREA
EHI/940 ON 15 MAY) ALL PRODUCED M-CLASS EVENTS ON 15 MAY. ACTIVITY
WAS MODERATE ON 16, 18, AND 19 MAY WITH A SINGLE M-CLASS EVENT
OCCURRING ON EACH DAY. ACTIVITY WAS LOW ON 17, 20, AND 21 MAY,
ALTHOUGH AN INTERESTING EVENT OCCURRED ON 20 MAY, A C7/1N, WITH AN
ACCOMPANYING TYPE II AND IV SWEEP AT 20/0535UT FROM REGION 8998. THE
LARGEST REGION DURING THE PERIOD WAS 8996 (S21, L = 345, CLASS/AREA
EKC/1280 ON 16 MAY). EVEN THOUGH THIS REGION MAINTAINED A BETA-GAMMA
MAGNETIC CLASSIFICATION DURING MOST OF THE PERIOD, IT PRODUCED
COMPARATIVELY LITTLE ACTIVITY.

REAL-TIME SOLAR WIND DATA WERE AVAILABLE FROM THE NASA ADVANCED
COMPOSITION EXPLORER (ACE) SPACECRAFT FOR MOST OF THE PERIOD. SOLAR
WIND VELOCITY RANGED FROM 370 TO 600 KM/S DURING THE PERIOD, PEAKING
AT 600 KM/S FOR SHORT PERIODS ON 18 AND 19 MAY.

THERE WERE NO PROTON EVENTS DETECTED AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT.

THE GREATER THAN 2 MEV ELECTRON FLUX AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT WAS AT
NORMAL TO MODERATE LEVELS.

GEOMAGNETIC FIELD ACTIVITY WAS AT MOSTLY QUIET TO ACTIVE LEVELS
THROUGH 17 MAY, WITH MINOR STORMING OCCURING DURING THE PERIOD
17/0300-0900UT AT MID-LATITUDES AND 17/0000-0900UT AT HIGH
LATITUDES. ACTIVITY DECREASED TO QUIET TO UNSETTLED LEVELS FOR THE
REST OF THE PERIOD EXCEPT FOR 20 MAY WHEN THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD WAS
QUIET.

FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY
24 MAY - 19 JUNE 2000

SOLAR ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO VARY BETWEEN LOW AND MODERATE LEVELS.
ISOLATED M-CLASS FLARES ARE LIKELY DURING THE PERIOD. THERE WILL
ALSO BE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR A MAJOR FLARE SOMETIME DURING THE
PERIOD.

THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR A GREATER THAN 10 MEV PROTON EVENT
AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT SOMETIME DURING THE PERIOD.

THE GREATER THAN 2 MEV ELECTRON FLUX AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT IS
EXPECTED TO BE AT NORMAL TO MODERATE LEVELS DURING MOST OF THE
PERIOD.

QUIET TO UNSETTLED LEVELS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE REST OF THE PERIOD,
BARRING AN EARTH-DIRECTED CME.


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