NASA's solar dynamic observatory has captured a stellar image of a giant dark hole opening in Sun's atmosphere, thus allowing hot solar winds to rush out into space. Even though an ordinary occurrence, the opening of the giant hole is absolutely a stellar sight to see.
An ordinary yet stellar sighting
According to reports, the NASA captured the ultraviolet image of the coronary hole on November 08, and they released the photo on November 20. NASA wrote on its website that the coronary hole was present in the Sun's atmosphere from November 7-9, 2017.
"The hole is easily recognizable as the dark expanse across the top of the Sun and extending down in each side. Coronal holes are magnetically open areas on the Sun that allow high-speed solar wind to gush out into space. They always appear darker in extreme ultraviolet. This one was likely the source of bright aurora that shimmered for numerous observers, with some reaching down even to Nebraska," wrote NASA.
According to experts, a coronal hole doesn't actually go through the sun's atmosphere. Instead, it is simply a cooler area in the sun, which is less dense than the surrounding plasma.
Repercussions on Earth
NASA experts believe that the opening of the magnetic field allows particles to escape much faster than in a normal solar wind. The high speeding streams ejected from the Sun's atmosphere will result in destabilizing Earth's magnetosphere, thus jeopardizing satellites and power grids.
According to scientists, the auroras which lit the light across the skies of Canada, northern parts of Montana and Dakota are the result of this solar phenomenon.
