The sun's atmosphere is split down the middle by a canyon-shaped coronal hole, which is almost directly facing Earth

Earth Watch Report  -  Solar Activity

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Space Weather

by Dr. Tony Phillips.

CORONAL CANYON:

Today, the sun's atmosphere is split down the middle by a canyon-shaped coronal hole. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the chasm, which is almost directly facing Earth:

Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. This hole is straddling the sun's equator so the solar wind stream emerging from it will intersect Earth's orbit. ETA: May 16-17. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on those dates.

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