NASA warns happy image of smiling sun could be sign of upcoming solar storm
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    NASA has captured an image of the sun that looks like a smiling face but the adorable photo could signal a forthcoming solar storm.

    Their Solar Dynamics Observatory team used telescopes and 13 different wavelengths of light to capture the sun's atmosphere, and depict the sun as a golden ball surrounded by a halo of light with three black spots in the shape of two eyes and a mouth.

    And It's these three dark marks that could signify a looming solar storm, reports NPR.

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    Known as coronal holes, solar winds can escape from these regions quiet easily, clocking up speeds of up to 1.8million miles per hour.

    While these geomagnetic storms can create beautiful aurora, they can also create dangerous currents in the power grid and pipelines and even wreak havoc on GPS.

    NASA scientist Joseph Gurman said: "Ultraviolet light from the sun can show us the origins of solar storms that can lead to power outages, cell phone disruptions, and delays in shipping packages due to the rerouting of planes from over the pole."

    In 2014, NASA captured another ultraviolet image of the sun, which was dubbed Pumpkin Sun for good reason.

    In time for Halloween, the sun resembled a jack-o-lantern, also due to coronal holes which had the potential to trigger solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

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    Earlier this month, the Daily Star warned of a massive solar storm coming earth's way, which had the potential to cause major black outs, after a giant filament around 2,00,000km long ejected from the southern hemisphere of the sun.

    Appearing similar to a rubber band, the massive magnetic flare erupted and hurled itself into space, with experts warning that debris from it may have been headed towards Earth.

    The sun seems to be particularly active recently, flaring up more and more as it approaches its Solar Maxima, which is the period of greatest solar activity in the star's 11-year cycle.

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