A photo taken of the sun shows three dark spots on the giant ball of gas, giving the sun a Jack-O-Lantern-like appearance right in time for Halloween.
While the image of the sun might be a happy one, the effects of the dark spots, known as coronal holes, could potentially lead to hazardous repercussions. The three holes on the sun prompted a minor geomagnetic storm watch on Saturday, which was “anticipated to enhance and disturb the solar wind environment and lead to unsettled conditions,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space,” NASA tweeted.
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These coronal holes send particles out into the universe, which could then be picked up by radio antennae, and disrupt communication channels such as radio and television instead of being absorbed by Earth’s magnetic field, according to a report from the Washington Post.
Say cheese! ?
Today, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the Sun “smiling.” Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space. pic.twitter.com/hVRXaN7Z31
— NASA Sun, Space & Scream ? (@NASASun) October 26, 2022
Coronal holes get their darker appearance against the bright sun due to being “cooler, less dense regions than the surrounding plasma,” as well as being regions of “open, unipolar magnetic fields.” These can then develop into a co-rotating interaction region, which can cause mild to moderate levels of geomagnetic storming, according to the NOAA.
Geomagnetic storms are ranked on a scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme), and can potentially disrupt power and other systems on Earth as well as spacecraft operations. Coronal holes usually rank on the scale of G1 and G2, with the latter level leading to a limited blackout of radio communication.
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Thankfully, no geomagnetic storms or “significant transient or recurrent solar wind features” are to be expected from these holes. There have been “no geomagnetic storms” in the past week, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center stated on Sunday.
The Washington Examiner has contacted NASA for comment.
