Did Two Massive Holes in The Sun Just Open? - What It Means For Earth

If you have been worried about the two large 'holes' opening up on the Sun and pointing straight at Earth, you are not alone. Social media posts have said that these enormous gaps in the Sun's atmosphere could unleash powerful streams of high-speed solar wind towards our planet and start intense space weather.

Now, at face value, the idea that something insane has just happened on the Sun can be worrying. After all, the Sun's behaviour influences Earth's magnetic environment, our satellites and even the northern lights. But to understand what is really going on, it helps to look at what scientists actually mean by these 'holes,' why they form and what impact they have on Earth.

So, while images from NASA and other observatories do show dark regions on the Sun's surface that sometimes face Earth, these features actually have an effect on Earth that is much different from viral stories.

What Are The 'Holes' on the Sun and What Do They Imply

Now, when people talk about 'holes' in the Sun, they usually refer to coronal holes, which are large, darker areas in the Sun's outer atmosphere known as the corona. Coronal holes appear darker because they are cooler and less dense than surrounding regions, and most importantly, their magnetic field lines are open rather than looped back into the Sun's surface. Recently, one post about it went viral.

So, this open magnetic structure allows charged particles such as the solar wind to stream out into space at much higher speeds than usual. These solar wind streams are part of the reason why Earth experiences variations in space weather.

Moreover, coronal holes are not unusual. They appear throughout the 11 year solar cycle that governs the Sun's activity. They can be small or span millions of kilometres, and they can form at the Sun's poles or nearer its equator. When these regions rotate into a position facing Earth, the high speed solar wind emanating from them can interact with Earth's magnetic field, sometimes setting off geomagnetic storms.

These interactions can alter the aurora borealis and aurora australis, producing magnificent light shows in the night sky at higher latitudes and, sometimes, even influence satellite operations or radio communications.

So, claims like 'two massive holes just opened' usually come from observations of more than one coronal hole becoming Earth-facing around the same time. It is true that multiple pockets of open magnetic field can be present on the Sun's surface simultaneously, and space weather forecasters do monitor these regions for their potential to affect Earth with energetic solar wind.

These features are observed by spacecraft such as NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which captures ultraviolet images that show the dark shapes of coronal holes on the Sun's disk.

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The Real Impact on Earth

Furthermore, the way that solar wind streams from coronal holes affects Earth depends on factors such as their size, duration and the speed of the particles they emit. The greater the solar wind speed, the greater the compression and disturbance of Earth's magnetic field upon arrival.

So, this can elevate the geomagnetic activity indices used by scientists to gauge impacts, such as the Kp index. But even then, a stream from a coronal hole usually produces mild to moderate geomagnetic storms at most. Even super serious and disruptive events usually involve additional factors, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun's atmosphere.

There is no question that coronal holes can and do send high speed solar wind toward Earth when they are on the Earth-facing side of the Sun. Space weather alerts and forecasts often describe incoming solar wind streams and the potential for geomagnetic activity. For example, recent observations have revealed large coronal holes visible in ultraviolet imagery, and scientists have anticipated increased solar wind impacting Earth's magnetic environment as a result.

However, the viral claim that two massive holes have 'just opened' and are poised to unleash unusual and severe effects on Earth should be taken with a big pinch of salt. Coronal holes do not 'open' suddenly in the shocking and worrying sense that headlines imply.

They are features that can persist for weeks or even months, rotating with the Sun as it spins and gradually moving in and out of the Earth facing view. Moreover, there have been many instances of coronal holes in the last year itself, usually observed by NASA and other observatories, producing streams of solar wind that lead to minor to moderate geomagnetic storms and auroral displays. So nothing to worry about here.