Coronal Hole Front and Center

A substantial coronal hole had rotated so that it temporarily faced right towards Earth (May, 17-19, 2016). This coronal hole area is the dark area at the top center of the image. They usually appear dark when viewed in wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light. Coronal holes are magnetically open areas from which high-speed solar wind streams into space. This solar wind can cause aurora displays when it reaches Earth several days from now.

Movie
Coronal_Hole_211_big.mp4
Coronal_Hole_211_sm.mp4

SDO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Its Atmosphere Imaging Assembly was built by the Lockheed Martin Solar Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), Palo Alto, California.