On January 23, 2026, NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) observatory executed its final engine burn, successfully entering its final orbital position at Lagrange point 1. Located roughly one million miles from Earth, this unique vantage point allows the satellite to continuously monitor the sun and space weather before it reaches our planet. The observatory has now been officially renamed to Space weather Observations at L1 to Advance Readiness – 1 (SOLAR-1).
SOLAR CYCLE 25 LIKELY REACHED THE HIGHEST SUNSPOT NUMBER IN OVER 20 YEARS
published: Friday, January 30, 2026 19:54 UTC
Solar Cycle 25 likely reached the highest sunspot number yet – a value of at least 299. The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) non-official, estimated daily sunspot number for August 8th was 337, a value not observed since March 2001. However, the official SSN is determined by the World Data Center – Sunspot Index and Long-Term Solar Observations (WDC-SILSO) and it’s Solar Influences Data Center (SIDC) at the Royal Observatory in Belgium; and their initial daily estimate for August 8th was 299. They will report out the official number by September 1st. Visit their webpage at: https://www.sidc.be/SILSO/home(link is external) and as always visit our webpage for the latest space weather information and forecasts.
Dialogos of Eide 