Has a massive hole just opened up in the sun?

By January 16, 2025 Science

Recently, posts on X claiming that a “massive hole just opened up in the sun” have garnered millions of views. These posts contain images of the sun with what appears to be a black streak across its surface.

We’ve noticed a large number of users reposting these claims with foreboding warnings about the hole’s effects – such as widespread loss of electricity or heavy winds. Others claim that this will cause “powerful magnetic storms” and failures in essential communication technology such as television, GPS, and radio communications.However, while many of these claim posts mention NASA (the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration), none seem to directly cite the organisation or link a source. When we did a deeper search on X, it was relatively easy to find a post from one of NASA’s verified twitter accounts posted on 15th January.

 

According to NASA, the pictured phenomenon is a “coronal hole.” These holes are spots where the Sun’s magnetic field opens up to space, allowing solar material to escape – which gives the visual effect of darker areas when the sun is photographed. When the solar material from the sun escapes at high speeds from coronal holes it can sometimes cause geomagnetic storms which, in turn, can lead to displays of bright, dynamic light patterns (more commonly known as auroras) in Earth’s sky.

Coronal holes are regularly observed and recorded by different space agencies and observers – and sometimes have no impact on earth at all.  Other times, per NASA and other sources, auroras are most notable impact experienced by humans on earth as a result of coronal holes. Geomagnetic storms can impact astronauts and satellites in space and sometimes interfere with radio communication and power grids on earth. However, given that these storms can often be predicted and tracked, power companies have capabilities to mitigate potential issues.

This was recently proven in May 2024, when a coronal hole led to brilliant aurora sightings alongside some temporary GPS interference – with no significant impacts on the general population. In their post about this specific hole, NASA further emphasises that it “doesn’t stand out”  – in size or predicted impact.

Therefore, the claim posts fail to fully describe what a coronal hole is and, more significantly, fail to mention how common and closely observed they are by space and weather agencies around the world. They also fail to mention the lack of any warnings or predictions of danger from any official agency, instead leaning heavily on the eye-catching concept of a “hole in the sun.”

As such, it is true that there is a coronal hole in the sun. However, the claim posts suggesting possible danger to humans or catastrophic impacts on vital communication technologies are
misleading and inaccurate. We give this claim a rating of somewhat true due to the lack of vital information and context.

The bulk of the claim posts and fear-mongering reactions were posted on 13th and 14th January. Despite the NASA clarification posts being posted on 15th  January,  the disparity in reach and views is significant. For instance, the most viewed claim post garnered 3.2 million views and contained no elaboration, while the NASA post only gained 148,000 views.This is a clear illustration of the challenges faced by fact-checkers and consumers. Once circulated on a viral scale, it becomes extremely difficult to retract and correct inaccurate claims. Long-form or more detailed explanations or clarifications without eye-catching headlines are less likely to gain traction, which results in a limited reach.

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