Credit:SOHO -EIT Consortium,ESA,NASA
Explanation:The dark expanse below the equator of the Sun is acoronal hole -- a low density region extending abovethe surface where the solar magnetic field opens freely into interplanetary space. Shown in false color,the picture was recorded on September 19th in extreme ultraviolet light by theEIT instrument onboard the space-based SOHO observatory. Studied extensivelyfrom space since the 1960s inultraviolet andx-ray light, coronal holes are known to be the source of the high-speedsolar wind, atoms and electronsthat flow outward along the openmagnetic field lines. The solar wind streaming from this coronal hole triggered colorfulauroral displays on planet Earth begining latelast week, enjoyed byspaceweatherwatchers at high latitudes.
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