A hole in the Sun's atmosphere, which show up as a dark area. Holes are associated with open magnetic field lines. Researchers say high-speed solar winds originate in these holes.
A region in the Sun's corona where the solar magnetic field lines are open to interplanetary space (rather than closed back onto the visible solar surface) and that can connect via the solar wind with the Earth's magnetosphere. Typically associated with recurring minor magnetic storms and streams of faster than average solar wind. Back to the top.
A region in the Sun's outer atmosphere where visible coronal radiation is absent.
An extended region of the corona that is especially low in density
Areas in the coronal where the Sun's magnetic field loops out into space instead of looping back into the Sun, areas of magnetic anomalies (they often occur at the poles). In X-ray photographs of the Sun, coronal holes are black areas. Coronal holes can last for months or years. The solar wind is emitted from coronal holes.
A low density region of the corona with relatively low temperature. Coronal holes are the sources of high speed solar wind streams.
regions in the solar corona of exceptionally low density and temperature and weak magnetic fields.
An extended region in the corona, exceptionally low in density and associated with unipolar magnetic photospheric regions having "open" magnetic field topology. Coronal holes are largest and most stable at or near the solar poles, and a source of high-speed solar wind. Coronal holes are visible in several wavelengths but most notably in solar x-rays.
a breakdown in the magnetic fields in the solar corona
a dark region where a breakdown in the magnetic field structure in the solar corona has occurred
a large region of the sun which is less dense and cooler than the corona around it
an area in the corona of the Sun that appears dark in pictures taken with coronagraphs or during total solar eclipses or in X-rays
An area of the corona which appears dark in X-rays and ultraviolet light. They are usually located at the poles of the Sun, but can occur other places as well. The magnetic field lines in a coronal hole extend out into the solar wind rather than coming back down to the Sun's surface as they do in other parts of the Sun. more
An extended region of the corona, exceptionally low in density (large open "gaps"), and associated with photospheric regions. Coronal holes are closely associated with those regions on the Sun that have an "open" magnetic geometry, that is, the magnetic field lines associated with them extend far outward into interplanetary space, rather than looping back to the photosphere. Ionized material can flow easily along such a path, and this in turn aids the mechanism that causes high speed solar wind streams to develop.
an area in the Sun's corona that appears dark when viewed in the far UV or in the long-wavelength end of the x-ray range. Coronal holes seem associated with sources of fast solar wind, probably because their field lines do not curve back to the Sun. Over most of the Sun their shapes are changeable and irregular, but the Sun's polar regions seem to contain "permanent" coronal holes.
An Area of the solar surface that is dark at X-ray wavelengths; thought to be associated with divergent magnetic fields and the source of the solar wind.
A region of relatively low gas density in the solar atmosphere through which particles that form the solar wind can easily escape.
A region of very low density and temperature in the Sun's corona. Electrified particles can escape through coronal holes to produce the solar wind.
Coronal holes are areas where the Sun's corona is darker, colder, and has lower-density plasma than average. These were found when X-ray telescopes in the Skylab mission were flown above the earth's atmosphere to reveal the structure of the corona. Coronal holes are linked to unipolar concentrations of open magnetic field lines.