A huge “hole” in the sun threatens geomagnetic storms

A huge dark spot has appeared on the surface of the Sun, which is 50 times wider than Earth, and is spewing high-energy particles straight towards the planet, where radio communications are likely to be cut off.

The giant formation, known as the coronal hole, appeared near the sun’s equator on December 2, and within 24 hours its width expanded to 800,000 kilometers. Spaceweather.com. As of December 4, the hole is looking directly at Earth.

In general, particles emitted from the Sun, known as the solar wind, take 2 to 3 days to reach Earth, depending on their speed.

According to Space.com websiteThe coronal hole is expected to produce a moderate G2 geomagnetic storm, which will likely disrupt radio communications and damage satellites, as well as unusually intense northern and southern aurora.

But the particle explosion appears to have been less powerful than originally estimated, and so far only mild G1 geomagnetic storms have been reported.

It is still unknown when the hole will disappear, but similar formations in the past lasted for more than one solar cycle, lasting 27 days.

Coronal holes occur when the Sun’s magnetic fields open up and allow material from the Sun’s surface to quickly escape into space. They appear in the form of dark spots because they are less dense and hot than the rest of the sun’s surface.

The same applies to the most famous sunspots, with the difference that coronal holes are not visible in the visible spectrum, only in the ultraviolet.

The previous coronal hole, which appeared in the Sun in March, caused the strongest geomagnetic storms in six years.

During this time, the Sun is approaching what is called solar maximum, the peak of an 11-year cycle of ups and downs in solar activity.

Coronal holes occur most often during solar minimum. When they occur near solar maximum they are usually near the poles of the star, rather than near the equator as is the case now.

This phenomenon is therefore somewhat unusual.

During November, there were at least two geomagnetic storms that brought the aurora borealis unusually far south, even to northern Greece.