60 Earths could fit in this region
According to reports, the giant dark region on the Sun, known as this coronal hole, formed near the Sun’s equator on December 2 and reached its maximum width of approximately 800,000 kilometers within 24 hours. This black part has been pointing directly towards Earth since December 4.
What is a coronal hole?
What will be the effects?
Experts initially predicted that this latest breach could lead to a moderate intensity (G2) geomagnetic storm, which could trigger radio blackouts and strong Northern lights for the next few days.
However, according to Spaceweather.com, the resulting storm is at G1 level so far because the solar wind is less intense than expected. However, it is still possible to see the Northern Lights at high latitudes.
According to NOAA, radiation streams from coronal holes are much faster than the normal solar wind and often trigger disruptions in the Earth’s magnetic shield known as geomagnetic storms. The last coronal hole in the Sun, which appeared in March, caused the strongest geomagnetic storm to hit Earth in more than six years.
Weird in every way
Solar activity continues to increase all year long as the Sun approaches the peak of the approximately 11-year solar cycle known as solar maximum. But oddly enough, the massive new coronal hole shouldn’t be part of this increase in solar activity.
Coronal holes can appear at any time during the Solar cycle, but they actually occur more frequently when the Sun is at minimum, according to NOAA. When they occur during solar maximum, they are normally found near the Sun’s poles, not near the equator. Therefore, it is a mystery how such a large hole opened near the equator when the Sun is so close to its maximum.
However, numerous other signs that the Sun is becoming more active have emerged over the past few weeks. A massive “Sunspot archipelago” consisting of at least five different sunspot groups appeared on the Sun’s near side on November 18, and has since spewed dozens of solar storms into space. On November 25, an explosive “canyon of fire” eruption near the Sun’s equator released a coronal mass ejection (CME) that subsequently struck Earth and triggered rare orange aurorae. And on November 28, a “nearly X-class” solar flare occurred, creating Northern lights in lower latitudes.
These increases in solar activity are likely a sign that we are on the verge of solar maximum. In October, scientists revised their solar cycle predictions and now predict that the final peak could begin as early as 2024.