Large Coronal Hole

HOLE IN THE SUN’S ATMOSPHERE: A vast hole has opened in the atmosphere over the sun’s south pole, and it is spewing solar wind into space. The gaseous gap, a.k.a. a ‘coronal hole,’ is colored dark-purple in this extreme ultraviolet image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory:


Curved lines trace the sun’s magnetic field in this EUV image from SDO

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this particular hole is expected to reach Earth’s orbit on Jan. 4-5. The bulk of the stream will flow south of our planet. However, not all of it will miss. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of polar geomagnetic storms when the solar wind arrives in the next 48 hours.

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New Coronal Hole

CORONAL HOLE: A coronal hole has formed in the sun’s northern hemisphere, and it is spewing solar wind into space. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the UV-dark gap during the early hours of August 14th:

In the image, above, the sun’s magnetic field is traced by white curving lines. The coronal hole is where those magnetic field lines have opened up, allowing solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole is expected to reach Earth on August 16-18. NOAA forecasters estimate a 25% chance of polar geomagnetic storms when the windy stream arrives.

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Solar Coronal Hole

CORONAL HOLE: A hole in the sun’s atmosphere–a “coronal hole”–has opened up and it is spewing solar wind into space. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the UV-dark gap during the early hours of May 29th:

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field spreads apart and allows solar wind to escape. A windy stream of plasma flowing from this particular hole should reach Earth on June 2-3. The impact could spark geomagnetic storms and auroras around the poles

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Coronal Hole

CORONAL HOLE: Spewing solar wind, a yawning dark fissure in the sun’s atmosphere is turning toward Earth. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the “coronal hole” during the early hours of June 1st:

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows the solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole will reach Earth on June 5th – 7th, possibly stirring geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras

from:    space weather.com

Coronal Hole Ejections

CORONAL HOLE: A dark hole in the sun’s atmosphere (a ‘coronal hole’) is spewing a stream of solar wind toward Earth. The impact of the stream, expected on May 9-11, could add to the effect of the incoming CMEs, boosting the chances of strong geomagnetic activity later this week. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory took this picture of the opening on May 8th:

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s global magnetic field opens up and allows some of the sun’s atmosphere to escape. The outflow of gas is the solar wind. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of geomagnetic activity on May 9-10 when the stream arrives (along with the CMEs of May 7th).

from:    spaceweather.com

Double Coronal Hole

DOUBLE CORONAL HOLE: A double-barreled hole has opened up in the sun’s atmosphere and it is spewing a split-stream of solar wind toward Earth. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this composite UV image of the double coronal hole on August 20th:

Sky watchers should be alert for auroras when the solar wind arrives on August 22-24. NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% to 50% chance of high-latitude geomagnetic activity

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Coronal Hole

CORONAL HOLE: A dark gap in the sun’s atmosphere–a “coronal hole”–is spewing solar wind toward Earth. Estimated time of arrival: July 19th. This morning, UV-filtered telescopes onboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Obervatory photographed the opening:


Above: A composite of EUV images at three wavelengths: 211 Å, 193 Å, and 171 Å. Credit: SDO/AIA

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows hot gas to escape. A million mile-per-hour stream of solar wind flowing from this hole could spark polar geomagnetic storms when it arrives early next week. High-latitude sky watchers should be prepared for auroras.

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