For the second time in a week, a giant hole has appeared on the surface of the sun and could produce solar winds reaching speeds over a million miles per hour.
This type of opening is called a coronal hole and it is enormous, measuring 20 times the size of Earth, Sky News reported.
Experts say there could be more such events involving a giant hole on the surface of the sun
According to experts, we are currently experiencing a phase of intensified solar activity. This could lead to an increase in events such as flares, coronal mass ejections, and geomagnetic storms.
NASA‘s Solar Dynamics Observatory has identified a coronal hole. It may release solar winds moving at an astonishing speed of 1.8 million miles per hour. These winds are anticipated to hit our planet by Thursday.
The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft has already detected these winds. And they are moving at a pace of 700 kilometers per second as of Wednesday.
Winds may have an impact on the Earth’s magnetic field, as well as satellites and technology, Indy100 reported.
Coronal holes are not necessarily a sign of trouble as they are quite common in the sun’s corona
In fact, NASA even shared an image last year of three coronal holes that made it appear as if the sun was smiling. These features are a regular occurrence in the sun’s outer atmosphere.
Daniel Verscharen, an associate professor of space and climate physics at University College London, has confirmed their normality.
“This one is special because it is near the sun’s equator,” he told Sky News. “Since the sun rotates, an equatorial coronal hole can point towards the Earth at some point.”
The recent rise in solar activity, as observed in the past week, is an indication of a more active sun. These periods of heightened solar activity, known as solar maximums, occur approximately every 11 years.
They result in an increase in the number of coronal holes and more remarkable phenomena such as coronal mass ejections. Professor Verscharen compared this phenomenon to the sun “waking up.”
