A Large Coronal Hole Faces Earth - Farsided Coronal Mass Ejections, May 1, 2019

Earth is entering a stream of solar wind flowing from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere. Peak wind speeds on May 1st and 2nd could exceed 500 km/s (1.2 million mph), sparking minor geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras mixed with waxing spring twilight.

Data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory revealed a vast region where the sun's magnetic field has opened up, creating a gap in the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona.

This region, also known as a coronal hole, allows charged particles to escape and flow toward Earth in an increased solar wind.



Earth facing solar activity is very quiet, however the other side of the sun is very opposite. The past few days have seen quite a bit of activity surrounding old regions 2738 and 2738. A few solar flares observed by STEREO Ahead imagery also resulted in farsided coronal mass ejections. Another such eruption was observed on Wednesday at approx. 16 30 UTC. We will begin to see the source of these eruptions begin to turn back into view this weekend.




Credit: ESA/SOHO, NASA/SDO & STEREO Ahead

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