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What’s behind the hole in the Sun?

Beneath the Sun's calmly smiling face is a raging tempest. We don’t know exactly why coronal holes appear, but we do understand something of the pyrotechnics involved. Alan Duffy explains.

2015 showing the coronal hole as a dark region in the south.  Coronal holes are regions of the corona where the magnetic field reaches out into space rather than looping back down onto the surface. Particles moving along those magnetic fields can leave the Sun rather than being trapped near the surface. Those trapped particles can heat up and glow
2015 showing the coronal hole as a dark region in the south. Coronal holes are regions of the corona where the magnetic field reaches out into space rather than looping back down onto the surface. Particles moving along those magnetic fields can leave the Sun rather than being trapped near the surface. Those trapped particles can heat up and glow