GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: NOAA forecasters say there is an 80% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Aug. 4th when a solar wind stream is expected to buffet Earth's magnetic field. The wind is flowing from a canyon-shaped hole in the sun's atmosphere, so wide that it is almost bisecting the solar disk. Storm levels could reach G2-category (moderately strong) during the late hours of Aug. 4th, subsiding to G1-category (minor) on Aug. 5th. Visit Spaceweather.com for more information and updates.
Above: A canyon-shaped coronal hole (CH) is spewing solar wind toward Earth. This extreme ultraviolet image was taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
