Continuing A Months-Long
Spate of heightened activity, the sun is currently crackling with powerful solar flares,
Which Are Often
Accompanied by giant explosions of plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
When CMEs Pass Over Earth
They can temporarily compress our planet's magnetic shield, resulting in geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids, and damage satellites in their path.
The Vast Majority
Of geomagnetic storms are mild, according to NOAA. But the largest CMEs can trigger much more devastating storms
Such As The Infamous 1859
Carrington Event, which induced such strong electrical currents that telegraph equipment burst into flame, according to NASA.
Scientists Have Warned That Another
Solar storm of that magnitude could plunge Earth into an "internet apocalypse," knocking nations offline for weeks or months.
There Is A Small Chance That A Small
CME could "graze Earth's magnetosphere", NOAA said in their latest report, resulting in a G1-class geomagnetic storm