Coronal Holes
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Context
- Recently, a phenomenon called "coronal holes" was spotted on the sun by NASA.
About
- Coronal holes are areas in the Sun's atmosphere that appear dark in X-ray and ultraviolet images of the Sun.
- The plasma (electrified gas) in these regions of the Sun's corona (it's upper atmosphere) is coolerand denser than in other parts of the corona.
- They appear dark because plasma particles can escape along the magnetic field from the solar surface into interplanetary space, leaving a ‘hole’ in the corona.
- The escaping particles form high-speed solar wind streams that can eventually hit Earth, causing geomagnetic storms.
- The appearance and location of these holes on the Sun vary in dependence on solar activity, giving us also important information on the long-term evolution of the Sun.
- In Coronal Holes, the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space, sending solar material out in a high-speed stream of solar wind. Coronal holes can last between a few weeks to months.
- ‘Coronal holes’ are important to understanding the space environment around the earth through which our technology and astronauts travel.
Read:
https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/geomagnetic-storm
https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/solar-flares
https://www.iasgyan.in/blogs/solar-cycle
https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/muse-and-helioswarm
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