Two Huge Holes in the Sun Spotted

By IB Times Staff Reporter | February 13, 2011 5:23 AM EST

Japanese scientists have spotted two huge holes on the sun's magnetic field, and it has been observed that the holes look darker than other parts of the sun.

The holes, called coronal holes, are gateways for solar material and gas to spill out into space, according to space.com. The gaps in the sun's magnetic field make a hole through its atmosphere, letting gas out, NASA has said.

The new finding was made by Japan's Hinode sun-watching satellite which has been observing sun since 2006. "Japan's Hinode sun-watching satellite photographed the sun's two coronal holes on Feb. 1. In the image, one coronal hole appears near the top center of the sun while another one – a polar coronal hole – is visible near the bottom of the view", space.com said in an article.

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