Update #3: 5:55pm Eastern Time
There appears to be a race between Iran/Iraq and China to be the one to hit 6.0 first. China has dominated the scene since the news (below), in which China is not mentioned.
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Update #2: 4:50pm Eastern Time
Goodbye megaspot (11899)
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Update #1: 4:35pm Eastern Time
Earthquake Watch Score: 5. Spaceweather is calm, but doesn’t it look like the coronal fields will open up right around the 24th/25th when Saturn and Mercury conjoin to match the geocentric opposition of Venus and Jupiter? I foresee a watch at 8 in the near future. In addition to the zones mentioned, China seems to be in an uptick as well.
Solar Notes: Plasma filaments are still the top threat right now. The ENLIL spirals indeed show a density shock followed by moderate speed coming in a few days — this is further indication that we should be looking to the eastern equatorial regions for a coronal hole here soon.
SDO ISON: http://cometison.gsfc.nasa.gov