The Sun shot a coronal mass ejection (CME) in our direction yesterday, and the electronic-disrupting particles are set to reach Earth in 48 hours.
The particles can't get through the Earth's atmosphere, but could affect satellites and terrestrial electronic systems, a NASA press release reported.
"The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields. Where these fields are closed, often above sunspot groups, the confined solar atmosphere can suddenly and violently release bubbles of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections. A large CME can contain a billion tons of matter that can be accelerated to several million miles per hour in a spectacular explosion. Solar material streams out through the interplanetary medium, impacting any planet or spacecraft in its path. CMEs are sometimes associated with flares but can occur independently," NASA explained on a FAQ page on their website.
The CME initially was travelling at about 570 miles per second, which is an average speed.
CMEs have the ability to create what is called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they "funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape."
NASA reported past geomagnetic storms of this intensity have not been serious.
Before the most recent CME, an ill-fated comet plunged directly into the Sun, spaceweather.com reported.
"With a diameter of perhaps a few tens of meters, this comet was clearly far too small to survive the intense bombardment of solar radiation," comments Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab, who studies sungrazing comets, told spaceweather.com.
The comet was vaporized during the impact.
CMEs sometimes cause power surges, but can also produce a pleasant aurora.
Another Earth-directed 2013 CME, in March, caused a mild storm and auroras around the poles, a NASA press release reported. This ejection left the Sun at a higher speed, travelling at about 900 miles per second.
In April, the Sun emitted three CMEs in two days.
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