QUIET SUN
Solar activity is very low and likely to remain so for the rest of the week. NOAA forecasters say there is no more than a 1% chance of strong solar flares on Jan. 20th.
SOUTHERN CORONAL HOLE
High above the sun's south pole, a vast hole has opened in the sun's atmosphere. This is called a "coronal hole", and it is the deep blue-colored region in this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
Coronal holes are places in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field opens upand allows solar wind to escape. White arrows in the image above show where solar wind is flying away from the sun.
Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole is expected to reach Earth on Jan. 22-23, with a 30% chance of minor geomagnetic storms when the wind arrives. Auroras will probably appear around the Arctic Circle, although their visibility may be mitigated by the glare of the nearly full Moon.
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