Earthside View

Map showing locations of active regions on the sun
The solar map above shows the current active region numbers and locations assigned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center. The colored circle below the active region indicates the activity level and hazard potential of an active region. See color coding used below. If flares occur in the orange shaded area on the right side of the map, they are more likely to be directed towards Earth.

Farside View

Map showing locations of regions on the far side of the sun
The farside solar map shows approximate locations of regions on the far side of the Sun (assuming a uniform solar rotation rate). Meridian lines show days until the region might possibly re-appear on the Earth side view of the Sun.

Color Coding

Color coding used in solar map
The color code used for the hazardous region indicators was designed in 2002 by the NASA Space Radiation Analysis Group for the Solar Active Region Display System (SARDS) project. Its purpose was to quickly identify hazardous active regions on the sun in support of space missions. (Note CME history indicator has not been implemented).