Image: Coronal hole on the sun

Jun 06, 2012
Credit: NASA/AIA

(Phys.org) -- This image of a coronal hole on the sun bears a remarkable resemblance to the 'Sesame Street' character Big Bird. Coronal holes are regions where the sun's corona is dark.

These features were discovered when X-ray telescopes were first flown above the Earth's atmosphere to reveal the structure of the across the solar disc.

Coronal holes are associated with 'open' and are often found at the sun’s poles. The high-speed solar wind is known to originate in coronal holes.

The solar wind escaping from this hole will reach Earth around June 5-7, 2012.

Explore further: Dark, massive asteroid to fly by Earth on May 31

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User comments : 4

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scintilla
5 / 5 (3) Jun 07, 2012
"This image of a coronal hole on the sun bears a remarkable resemblance to the 'Sesame Street' character Big Bird."

Are you high?
kaasinees
2.3 / 5 (3) Jun 07, 2012
Is this what made the XRAy beam seen on several venus transitions videos?
DarkHorse66
not rated yet Jun 07, 2012
Big Bird? The arms are too little and the tail too big. (smirk) It could just as easily be a rearing stallion or a kangaroo... Personally I like the idea of the 'Boot'(the shape of this country is sometimes described as such) of Italy best. ;) Cheers, DH66
Shelgeyr
3 / 5 (2) Jun 07, 2012
@scintilla asks of the author "Are you high?"

I think you've nailed it.

I mean, unless this guy's childhood was so Sesame Street-centric that his cerebral pattern-recognition functions are locked into Muppet-mode, I'm thinking "hallucinogens" is the most likely answer.

Besides, it obviously looks more like Horus in profile, not Big Bird!

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