Space weather forecasts and alerts are issued by the Space Environment Sevices Center (SESC), part of the Space Environment Center (SEC/NOAA) located in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo courtesy of SEC/NOAA.)

The SESC receives space weather data from many different satellites and ground-based stations around the world. Forecasters track sunspots, map coronal holes and provide a detailed description of all active regions visible on the solar disk. (Illustration courtesy of SEC/NOAA.)

Sunspot Groups, like those seen as dark areas in visible-light images of the Sun, are also responsible for X-ray emissions as shown here. These are active regions where hot, dense plasmas are energized. They are also associated with regions of oppositely directed magnetic fields.

X-ray flares are classified as C (low intensity), M (moderate intensity), and X (high intensity). Because solar flares and coronal mass ejections can cause magnetic storms in Earth's magnetosphere, SESC also reports on geospace conditions and the likelyhood of a magnetic storm.

Forecasters in the SESC also monitor the near-Earth space environment. Solar flares produce vast amounts of X-rays and energetic protons which can be detected by NOAA satellites orbiting at geosynchronous altitudes. Energetic particles from the Sun and energized plasma in Earth's radiation belt environment can cause damage to satellites.

                                Today's space weather report