---
title: "Earth About to Be Blasted By a Storm Ejected From the Sun’s “Southern Hole”"
description: "A massive solar ejection from the Sun's coronal hole is barrelling towards Earth — but we promise, it's not as bad as it sounds."
date: "2022-08-02"
modified: "2022-08-02"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/solar-ejection-storm-hole"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "geomagnetic storm"
  - "solar wind"
  - "the digest"
  - "the sun"
---

# Earth About to Be Blasted By a Storm Ejected From the Sun’s “Southern Hole”

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/solar-ejection-hole.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ESA\</em\>*

## Coronal Ejections

We don't wanna freak you out or anything — but there's about to be a massive gas ejection from the Sun's coronal hole.

But we promise, it's not as bad as it sounds.

As [*SpaceWeather* reports](<https://spaceweather.com/>), "gaseous material is \[flowing\] from a southern hole in the Sun's atmosphere," and it's going to hit Earth's atmosphere on August 3.

Fortunately, as gross as that sounds, these kinds of geomagnetic storms are both pretty commonplace and not a huge risk to us back on Earth.

These sorts of holes in the Sun's corona — the outermost part of its atmosphere — occur in spots when the star's gas or plasma becomes cooler and less dense, as [*Space.com* notes](<https://www.space.com/sun-hole-produce-solar-storm-august-2022?utm_campaign=socialflow>).

From these holes, solar material is able to surge outward at more than a million miles per hour.

## Weak Storm

Luckily, Earth's magnetic field absorbs these solar winds with little more than a slight compression of electrons at our poles.

Generally, the worst that happens when these winds hit our magnetosphere is [some interference with low-frequency GPS and radio waves](<https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/impacts/space-weather-and-gps-systems>) and possibly some minor satellite malfunctions.

In fact, these storms can also [trigger some spectacular light shows](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/plasma-earth-aurora>), commonly known as the Northern Lights.

This expected solar storm is no different, and as a category G1 storm, it's expected to be weak, according to *Space.com.*

Which means we don't need to be worrying about this particular hole as the Sun heads into its most active storm season in [its 11-year-long cycle](<https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-cycles/en/>).

**READ MORE:** [Solar storm from hole in the sun will hit Earth on Wednesday (Aug. 3)](<https://www.space.com/sun-hole-produce-solar-storm-august-2022?utm_campaign=socialflow>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on sexy atmospheres:** *[ESA Unveils Plan to Send Spacecraft Through Venus' "Hot, Thick" Atmosphere](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/esa-venus-envision-atmosphere>)*

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)