A monstrous black patch, known as a coronal hole, recently appeared near the sun's equator. The temporary hole enables unusually speedy solar wind to race toward Earth which resembles eyes and a smile.
These are regions on the sun’s surface from where speedy solar wind bursts out into space. In these areas, the magnetic field is spread out to interplanetary space, sending solar media out in a high-speed surge of solar wind i.e. geomagnetic storm.
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| SOURCE - Windows to the Universe |
Astronomers are closely monitoring an enormous coronal hole that has recently been found on the sun's surface, casting a flow of high-velocity solar winds in the direction of our planet.
Understanding Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are eruptions, often connected with sunspots, that are formed by a giant release of energy that forms due to magnetic field lines breaking and reconnecting.
A coronal hole, by contrast, is a huge region where the solar magnetic field opens up. They can't be viewed in optical light, like sunspots; but when we try to look in ultraviolet wavelengths, we see large, dark patches that are dimmer than their own surroundings because they are cooler.
Implications of Open Magnetic Fields - Enhanced Solar Wind
Because the magnetic field is open, the wind that blows from the Sun all the time can escape more readily. The output is a more powerful blast of solar particles and plasma out into the Solar System, moving around any planets that may be in their way.
Actually, Coronal holes develop when the magnetic fields that hold the sun in place suddenly open up, generating the contents of the sun's upper surface to move away in the structure of solar wind, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Coronal holes appear as black patches because they are cooler and less thick than the surrounding plasma. This is the same as why sunspots appear to be dark — but unlike sunspots, coronal holes are not viewed unless they are seen in ultraviolet light.
Mitigating Risks - The Importance of Monitoring Solar Activity
The coronal hole reached its huge size within a day and has since been facing the Earth directly, starting from December 4. These holes are not strange, but the scale and timing of this one have grabbed the attention of the scientific community.
The radiation blowouts from coronal holes are much faster than usual solar wind and often trigger disturbances in Earth's magnetic shield, known as geomagnetic storms, according to NOAA. The last coronal dark hole to appear on the sun’s surface, which developed in March, crackled out the most powerful geomagnetic storm to hit Earth's surface in more than six years.
The giant black patch on the sun's coronal hole took shape near the sun's equator on Dec 2 and reached its maximum size of around 497,000 miles (800,000 kilometers) width within 24 hours, Spaceweather reported. Since Dec 4, the solar plant has been pointing directly at Earth.
While the current coronal hole causes no significant threat to Earth as it moves in the way pointing away from the face of Earth, it shows our star's powerful nature and the importance of monitoring solar exertion for potential reflections on our planet's technology and environment.
Written By - Anjali Kumari
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