Giant Hole Discovered in the Sun Sends Powerful Solar Winds Toward Earth

NASA's Parker Solar Probe observed a slow solar wind flowing out from the small coronal hole—the long, thin black spot seen on the left side of the sun in this image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Oct. 27, 2018. NASA/Handout via Reuters

A giant “hole” more than five times bigger than the planet Jupiter opened up in the sun’s atmosphere and temporarily unleashed powerful solar winds toward Earth this week.

Also known as a “coronal hole,” the massive opening in the sun’s magnetic field began appearing near the sun’s equator on Dec. 2 and quickly reached its maximum width of nearly 497,000 miles (800,000 kilometers) within just days, Spaceweather.com reported.