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Don’t Panic But A Huge Black Mark Has Appeared On The Sun

It’s the size of 50 Earths

NASA
NASA



A vast ‘hole’ has appeared in the sun - a black mark the size of 50 Earths, which is spewing out particles towards our planet.

Don’t worry, though - while it looks terrifying in this ultraviolet image taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, it won’t harm us.

At worst, the coronal hole, which materialised last week, can interfere with some satellite communications and high-altitude radio transmissions.

It has released a stream of particles towards our planet, travelling across space at up to 500 miles per second, which have caused days of Northern Lights around the world as they hit our atmosphere.

NASA says, ‘A broad and substantial coronal hole (the much darker area across the top of the Sun) faced directly towards Earth for several days (Oct. 9-12, 2015).

‘Coronal holes are magnetically open areas that are one source of high-speed solar wind. They appear dark when viewed in many wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light, such as seen here. At times, the solar wind can generate aurora at higher latitudes on Earth.’