What actually happens when the Sun sends a powerful storm our way? ☀️ When the Sun erupts, it can release an intense solar flare followed by a fast-moving cloud of energised gas called a coronal mass ejection. Travelling at thousands of kilometres per second, these eruptions can disturb Earth’s magnetic field, accelerate energetic particles and trigger geomagnetic storms. On the ground, that can mean temporary radio interference, navigation issues and dazzling auroras. Thanks to our atmosphere a

Recently there was an unusual solar storm on the Sun, which formed a giant fire canyon. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory showed a vivid animation of this huge ejection of charged plasma. The solar wind reached Earth in April 2022. And on August 9, after a solar flare, charged particles bombarded our planet again. At 600 kilometers per second [372 miles per second], they collided into Earth's magnetosphere, causing auroras. The northern lights were visible in U.S. states from Maine to New York.