Coronal Hole: A dark gap in the sun's atmosphere--a "coronal hole"--has opened up, and it is spewing a stream of solar wind into space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) photographed the opening during the early hours of Feb 24th:
Wondering about the colors in this image? This is how the sun looks through SDO's extreme UV filters.
Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows the solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this particular coronal hole is expected to reach Earth on or about March 2nd. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on that date.
FARSIDE HOTSPOT: The image also shows the magnetic canopy of a sunspot group approaching just beyond the sun's northeastern limb. The active region should emerge in the next 24 to 48 hours.
As big sunspot AR1678 departs, another active region is approaching. NASA's STEREO-B probe, stationed over the farside of the sun, is monitoring a significant ultraviolet hotspot. It is circled in this 360-degree Stoneyhurst projection of the entire solar surface:
FARSIDE HOTSPOT: The image also shows the magnetic canopy of a sunspot group approaching just beyond the sun's northeastern limb. The active region should emerge in the next 24 to 48 hours.
As big sunspot AR1678 departs, another active region is approaching. NASA's STEREO-B probe, stationed over the farside of the sun, is monitoring a significant ultraviolet hotspot. It is circled in this 360-degree Stoneyhurst projection of the entire solar surface:
In the projection, longitudes between +90 and -90 degrees are on the Earthside of the sun; other longitudes are on the farside. The image shows that the farside active region is poised to rotate from farside to Earthside within the next ~24 hrs. Perhaps it will bring some flares with it. Stay tuned! www.spaceweather.com
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