Butterfly Shaped Hole On The Sun Appears: What Is It, How Much Bigger Than The Earth Is It, And How Will It Affect Us?

A huge butterfly-shaped hole on the Sun may cause geomagnetic storms and auroras as solar wind heads directly for Earth. (Courtesy of NOAA's GOES)

A massive, butterfly-shaped hole has opened in the Sun's outer atmosphere, sending high-speed solar wind directly towards our planet and increasing the likelihood of geomagnetic storms and widespread auroras.

Identified as a coronal hole, it spans an estimated 310,000 miles (500,000 kilometres). These holes are regions where the Sun's magnetic field opens out into space, allowing solar wind to escape at high speed. In this case, the solar wind is heading straight for Earth.