The sun is nearing the peak of its 11-year activity cycle

Jul 20, 2013 15:16 GMT  ·  By

The European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has captured a startling image of the sun recently, showing a massive coronal hole engulfing the better part of the star’s top hemisphere.

"You couldn't miss it even if you tried: an extensive coronal hole has rotated into view over the past several days (July 13-18, 2013)," the ESA explained.

"The magnetic field lines in a coronal hole extend out into the solar wind rather than coming back down to the Sun's surface as they do in other parts of the Sun," it added.

Coronal holes like this one are cooler than the surrounding areas and generate less activity as a result.

The sun is headed towards the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, and we'll see the biggest events sometime later this year. Normally, the amount of coronal holes decreases during this period. That said, this year's peak seems to be one of the weakest in many cycles.