05 November 2024 - Mission Day: 10567 - DOY: 310
Pick of The Week
 
 

Substantial Coronal Hole (February 6, 2004)


Hi-res TIF image (3.6M)

The Earth is being bathed in a solar stream that is flowing out of this large coronal hole observed over an eight-day period (Jan. 27 - Feb. 3, 2004). Coronal holes appear as dark areas of the corona when viewed in ultraviolet light and in X-rays. This coronal hole area is one of the larger ones seen over the past year. Coronal holes are the source of strong solar wind gusts that carry solar particles out to our magnetosphere and beyond. Solar wind streams take 2-3 days to travel from the Sun to Earth, and the coronal holes in which they originate are more likely to affect Earth after they have rotated more than halfway around the visible hemisphere of the Sun. As you can see, this hole has maintained its shape fairly coherently as it has rotated around from the left to right. And it may reappear when the Sun rotates this area around again in about two weeks. The magnetic field lines in a coronal hole open out into the solar wind rather than connecting to a nearby part of the Sun's surface. Coronal holes are responsible for the high-speed solar wind streams that sweep through the plane where the planets orbit -- and thus have a direct affect on "space weather" near the Earth. In fact, it is anticipated that Earth will continue to experience mild geo-effective storming for the next few days, particularly at the higher latitudes. Thus, people living in those areas are likely to see some aurora displays.

Please visit our Newsroom for press releases and media coverage.

Previous Picks of the Week

SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display.

If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov.

\
 
 

• European Site • US Site

 

Feedback & Comments: SOHO Webmaster

Last modification: July 27, 2020

SOHO
and
SOHO
SOHO is a project of international cooperation between