Huge hole over 400,000 miles long (700,000 kilometers) is 55 times wider than the Earth
A wide hole in the sun’s atmosphere is facing Earth and spewing a stream of solar wind toward our planet. Estimated time of arrival: April 9th. In this extreme ultraviolet image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, we see not only the hole, but also a bushy filament of magnetic bordering the hole’s leading edge:
Such filaments are often unstable. If this one erupts while it is facing Earth, it could hurl a CME in our direction, adding to the effect of the incoming solar wind.
The canyon-shaped hole is remarkably wide, stretching more than 700,000 km from end to end. As a result, Earth could be under the influence of its gaseous emissions for days.
