NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has detected an object known as a “coronal hole”. on the surface of the sun. According to the researchers, it is an enormous dark region in the star where the temperature is lower. According to the space agency, this less bright region is between 300,000 and 400,000 kilometers wide, which is “about 20 or 30 Earths”.
northern lights
Through these coronal holes, high-speed solar winds made of electrically charged particles and magnetic fields are shot into space. The current hole spewed winds of over 2.1 million km/haccording to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
An aurora chaser in Fairbanks, Alaska, captured a stunning spectacle of the northern lights early Friday morning, calling it “the craziest aurora of my life.” pic.twitter.com/QYzJuTVQIF
—CBS News (@CBSNews) March 25, 2023
These holes can affect the Earth, causing geomagnetic storms capable of generating Aurora borealis at lower-than-normal latitudes. Last Friday (24/03), dazzling aurorae caused by this phenomenon were reported in places like the US, UK and Canada.
Northern lights over Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley last night. The towering columns and bright colors were visible for a few unforgettable moments.
📍 big meadows, @employeeVirginia, USA pic.twitter.com/4ZNv7qbxUk
– Peter Forrester ❄️💨❄️ (@forecaster25) March 24, 2023
Recently, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory discovered another impressive phenomenon: The largest solar hurricane ever recorded. The plume of plasma reached an approximate height of 120,000 km, which is the equivalent of 14 Earths stacked. The phenomenon lasted three days.
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