An unusual coronal hole, almost square in its shape, was spotted on the sun (May 5-7, 2014). A coronal hole is an area where high-speed solar wind streams into space. It appears dark in extreme ultraviolet light as there is less material to emit in these wavelengths. Inside the coronal hole you can see bright loops where the hot plasma outlines little pieces of the solar magnetic field sticking above the surface. Because it is positioned so far south on the Sun, there is less chance that the solar wind stream will impact us. Currently the hole is rotating out of view and poses no real issue for Earth. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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