Coronal holes are darker and colder regions in the solar corona that can be observed primarily in X-rays. It is from these areas that the Sun throws the solar wind into space, which collides with the Earth’s magnetosphere at enormous speed.
A giant coronal hole on the Sun. It is 60 times larger than Earth
The currently observed coronal hole formed on December 2 and is gigantic. Its size at its widest point is as much as 800,000. km, and the average width of this area is 60 times greater than the diameter of the Earth – they calculate. Moreover, the hole is close to the equator and has been pointing almost directly towards Earth since December 4.
Scientists expected that this would translate into a moderate to significant solar storm, intense aurora borealis and even possible problems in satellite communications. However, nothing of the sort happened. The strength of the solar wind, which accelerated to enormous speeds, turned out to be relatively small and resulted in a magnetic storm of only G1 class (the weakest on a scale from 1 to 5). However, the aurora borealis could only be observed at high latitudes.
Solar activity is increasing faster than scientists expected
Of course, we cannot predict how long a hole will remain in the solar corona, but often the “lifetime” of such coronal holes exceeds 27 days, i.e. the approximate period of one revolution of the Sun around its axis. It is therefore possible that this area will move towards Earth again, causing some problems or causing strong aurora borealis. This cannot be ruled out, because currently the solar activity is constantly increasing. The last large coronal hole that appeared on our star in March resulted in the most powerful magnetic storm in more than six years –
Scientists have been noticing for several months that solar activity is growing faster than expected and this is indicated by, among others, an unusual, increasing number of sunspots, more frequent magnetic storms, and a greater number of solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
