Massive coronal hole faces Earth

Monday, 26 September 2016 10:14 UTC

But there is more! We actually believe that this coronal hole became bigger during the past few weeks. Compared to the last rotation, the extension that crosses the equator onto the southern hemisphere does seem to have grown in size.

A coronal hole is facing Earth. Enhanced solar wind could arrive in ~3 days - Follow live on https://t.co/T1Jkf6i4Cb pic.twitter.com/UtpZwcIYIv

— SpaceWeatherLive (@_SpaceWeather_) 26 september 2016

We already reached minor G1 geomagnetic storm conditions yesterday (reported by the NOAA SWPC)  which was likely caused by a much smaller coronal hole that faced us a few days ago. The solar wind and IMF conditions have subsided a bit this morning but starting tomorrow, we should start to feel the influence of this enormous coronal hole system. Another period like we had during the beginning of this month where reach geomagnetic storming conditions on multiple days is not out of the question. The NOAA SWPC expects storming up to the moderate G2 geomagnetic storm level on 28 September, which is not unthinkable considering the activity that we saw earlier this month.

High latitude sky watchers and with a bit of luck even those on middle latitude locations should for sure be alert. We are likely in for an interesting period with some nice auroral displays! Be sure to share your images and videos on our forum. Enjoy the hunt!

Not sure what all of this means? What a coronal hole is and why it causes aurora here on Earth? Go visit our help section and read all about it. Still puzzled? Than head over to our community forum and ask us a question!