Free Republic

After last month's impressive G3 geomagnetic storm caused by a coronal mass ejection, it is time to welcome back a familiar solar feature on our nearest star today. We have a small coronal hole facing our planet today. The high speed solar wind stream flowing from this coronal hole will likely take about three days to arrive at Earth which means the solar wind stream should impact Earth somewhere this Friday, 7 September. Active geomagnetic conditions are likely which is great news for northern hemisphere high latitude sky watchers who finally enjoy proper dark nights again.

A massive "hole" on the surface of the sun has unleashed a strong solar wind that scientists say may amp up the northern lights in some areas of the U.S. and could disrupt satellite communications over the next few days. Data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory revealed a vast region where the sun's magnetic field has opened up, creating a gap in the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona. This region, also known as a coronal hole, allows charged particles to escape and flow toward Earth in an increased solar wind. As a result, the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center...

A LARGE HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE Stretching more than halfway across the face of the sun is turning toward Earth. There is a "coronal hole"--a region in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field has opened up, allowing solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole could reach Earth as early as Jan. 4th (Jan. 5th is more likely), sparking G1-class geomagnetic storms. Polar sky watchers should be alert for auroras later this week.

The sun has been making some anxious faces lately — but you'd be worried, too, if a huge hole had just opened up on your head. The sun's apparent nervousness crops up in photos captured over the past few days by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO); you can see the gorgeous images compiled into a video here. The sun's "eyes" are actually active regions, which serve as launch pads for solar flares and the eruptions of superheated solar plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). And the anxious, crinkly mouth is a coronal hole, a relatively cool and dark region...

NASA has revealed that a massive hole, measuring more than ten per cent of the Sun's surface area, has opened up on our star. ... NASA says the huge hole is actually not of great concern, but it remains unclear why the coronal holes actually form. ..

A 'gigantic hole' in the sun's atmosphere, hovering over the solar north pole, has been photographed by a space telescope. The dark spot, which covers almost a quarter of the sun, is a large 'coronal hole' — a dark, low density region of the sun’s outermost atmosphere, the corona. It was spotted by the European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft between 13 and 18 July, during which time it was spewing out material including solar wind into space. While the hole looks devoid of solar activity, it was in fact releasing violent blasts of solar wind and...