Sun has developed 'holes' 30X larger than Earth, and it just spewed intense flare

NASA, on March 29, announced that the Sun emitted a strong solar flare toward Earth which classified as an X1.2 flare (X being the most intense class). This was revealed amid reports about the Sun developing a couple of 'holes' which are multiple times the size of the Earth. Scientists have estimated that the solar winds travelled at a speed of roughly 3 million km per hour when they struck our planet.

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare on March 28, 2023, peaking at 10:33pm ET. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the event, which was classified as X1.2: https://t.co/3ft4yBOzKR pic.twitter.com/RPdc6IIYvn

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun)

NASA obsevatory spots 'hole' on the Sun

This feature which appears as a dark region on the Sun is called 'coronal hole' and two of them were spotted by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The American space agency says that these coronal holes are the source of high-speed solar wind and they are magnetically open regions on the Sun that can last from days to months and there are high chances of a solar storm. NASA says that the resulting solar flares sent toward Earth peaked at 8:31 am on March 29.

(Coronal hole appearing as dark areas on the Sun; Image: NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory)

While one of the most recent of these coronal holes is 20 times bigger than Earth, the second is roughly 30 times as big as our planet. The reason for their dark appearance is the wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. "If these particles impact Earth's magnetosphere, they will likely generate aurora near the Earth's poles regions," says NASA. The latest solar storm indeed caused magnificent auroras in the northern hemisphere which reached as far as several states of the US. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in its warning, said that there are chances of "temporary degradation or complete loss of High Frequency (HF) radio signals on some of the sunlit side of Earth." Besides, they generally have the ability to disrupt radio communications, causing blackouts in electrical power grids and affect functional satellites in orbit. According to NASA's space report released last week, there were four notable solar flares, 22 coronal mass ejections, and one geomagnetic storm.