14 DAY TRIAL // An X-ray telescope has recently produced this amazing image of the solar surface, revealing the presence of an impressively large coronal hole. This particular structure is many times larger than our entire planet, NASA solar physicists explain.
An interesting aspect of these phenomena is that they are usually confined to the Sun's pole, primarily because they are associated with open magnetic field lines, which are less common near the Equator.
However, during solar maximums, they do tend to form all over the place. A maximum is a period of peak activity in the Sun's 11-year cycle. In the current cycle, that is scheduled to occur throughout 2012 and 2013, and is expected to produce numerous sunspots and solar flares.
The recent observations also showed that the solar winds released through this coronal hole are currently heading towards Earth, and will impact our planet today and tomorrow (June 6-7).