Yuri's Night and the International Day of Human Space Flight

Today is the 65th anniversary of first human space flight. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth in the Vostok-1 spacecraft. Coincidentally, the first Space Shuttle mission was also launched on April 12, but in 1981, 20 years after the Gagarin's flight.

Space weather posed issues from the beginning of human space exploration resulting in failure of communication satellites due to radiation damage and electric discharges and loss of satellites due to enhanced atmospheric drag  (DOI: 10.1080/29979676.2024.2391688). GONG network provides critical observations for the operational space weather forecast issued by the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and the prediction centers in other countries. 

Image shows a series of postage stamps issued in 2011 by the United Nations to commemorate 50 years of manned spaceflight. From left to right are the stamp depicting Yuri Gagarin's launch, an American astronaut on a ladder descending to the Moon's surface, the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle, and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft on its way to docking in orbit with the American Apollo spacecraft.

In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly designated April 12 as the International Day of Human flight. Yuri's Night is celebrated internationally since 2001.

GONG/LE is back on-line

Internet connection to GONG station at Learmonth, Australia was restored, and the observations taken on previous days are now flowing to NISP data center. Attached images show example of magnetograms taken on 7-10 April 2026. Status of GONG network can be checked at the Network Monitor site and the data could be accessed via the main NISP data website.

 

Three Decades of Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG): From Helioseismology to Magnetic Field and Space Weather (Invited Review)

A review article on GONG has been published in Solar Physics. It offers a rich historical perspective on the network’s three‑decade evolution, tracing its origins as a three‑year program focused on full‑disk helioseismic Doppler measurements to its current role as a major data source for space‑weather prediction. The article also outlines a forward‑looking discussion on the next major chapter: highlighting plans for the next‑generation network, ngGONG.  

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits free access while restricting commercial use and modifications.

DOI: 10.1007/s11207-026-02639-9

GONG/ML Status

The temporary Mauna Loa Access Road was officially completed on March 26th. 

While the road is officially open, the official status of the Mauna Loa Observatory remains closed to the general public. Since the site will be an active construction zone for the next two years, NOAA staff will tightly schedule site access for mission-critical activities only to ensure personnel safety. All visitors require explicit authorization to access the site.

Regarding utilities, NOAA does not have a date for commercial power restoration, but is actively engaging with the local utility provider.

Contractors are now on site at MLO installing off-grid solar electric systems for NOAA and MLSO.

Photo: Ben Berkey, HAO/MLSO

 

GONG/LE Status

 Power has been restored to the GONG shelter, and observations are being taken. The GONG engineering & operations staff have been in contact with LSO staff, and are getting regular updates.

GONG Tool screenshot via WhatsApp (Detrick Branston & Brian Newcomb, 4/8/26).

 

 One of the two air conditioning units was damaged beyond repair. All of the control electronics soaked in water, fan cover and fan blades missing. A quote has been received for that work, and the replacement unit has been ordered.

A quote for the replacement of the shelter power disconnect enclosure and surge arrestor is pending. 

Email update 4/9/26: "Electricians have been at the observatory all this afternoon and most days this week testing and replacing water-affected electrical infrastructure in the RSTN (radio telescope) building through which all our comms passes. Once they clear that building for electrical power restoration, we can then turn our attention to the comms side. In addition to this issue (water through the RSTN building), we still have no fibre connection to the outside world. We are working with the BOM IT Support and the internet provider to try to diagnose and resolve this. It is possible that the fibre was damaged at the main road end, as a deep ditch was scoured out by the sea water and rain inundation (we couldn't even drive into the site). "

GONG data are stored on site. The workstation can retain up to 61 days of data. 

Solar Activity Report: March 30 - April 5, 2026

 Solar activity fluctuated sharply over the past week. The period opened at high levels on March 30 with a long‑duration X1.4 flare from active region 14405, located in the southeastern quadrant of the visible disk. Activity then dropped markedly on March 31, with the strongest event reaching only C1.5 before declining into the B‑class range. Conditions rose again on April 1 as multiple high‑intensity C‑class flares were recorded, the largest being a C8.1 event. From April 2 through April 4, activity remained at moderate to high levels, driven by several M‑class and numerous strong C‑class flares. The largest daily events were M3.5, M1.3, and M7.5 on April 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Activity decreased once more on April 5, with a C3.8 flare as the day’s peak.

In summary, April 4 stood out as the most active day of the week. Active region 14409 dominated the activity, producing six M‑class flares and roughly 50 C‑class flares. Several CMEs were detected by coronagraphs throughout the week, but none were assessed to have significant Earth‑directed impacts.

Helioseismic maps of the far side show several active regions currently present. One of them—an active region from the previous rotation—appears to have a high likelihood of returning to the visible hemisphere around April 11.

Major M1.0 X-class flare on April 4, 2026

 On April 4, 2026, a major X-class solar flare of M1.0 magnitude was observed at about 22:54 UT in active region NOAA 14409. The flare was recorded by GONG/Big Bear station using its Hydrogen H-alpha instrument. GONG/BB restarted its observations on the day of flare after been down for a preventive maintenance. Image shows the location of flaring region before (22:39 UT) and during the flare (23:02 UT, marked by thick black arrow). The active region continues exhibiting a complex magnetic configuration and new flux emergence, and thus, may produce additional flares. The observations can be access via GONG website.