Nasa discovers 75,000 mile-wide hole in the Sun

Sunspots are caused by interactions with the Sun’s magnetic field and are cooler areas on the star’s surface

Nasa says it has identified a huge hole in the Sun, measuring an estimated 75,000 miles wide.

It has been dubbed AR2665 by the space agency and experts have warned it is large enough to produce solar flares.

Sunspots are caused by interactions with the Sun’s magnetic field and are cooler areas on the star’s surface.

This specific sunspot is actually larger than the planet Earth and experts at Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which discovered the hole, said at this stage it was too early to predict how the sunspot will behave.

The spot is nonetheless large enough that it is visible from Earth and has the potential to produce flares that could cause radiation storms, according to the Mail Online.

Sunspots are a common occurrence on the Sun, but are less frequent at a solar minimum - a period of low solar activity during the Sun's regular 11-year cycle.

Nasa predicts the next solar minimum will commence between 2019 and 2020.

In a statement Nasa said: “A new sunspot group has rotated into view and seems to be growing rather quickly. It is the first sunspot to appear after the Sun was spotless for two days, and it is the only sunspot group on the Sun at this moment.

“The time-lapse movie shows the spot growing as it rotates into view over a 42-hour period.”