On the 14th of December our star unleashed an X-class solar flare. Solar physicists classify strong flares into three categories, with C being the weakest, M the middling group and X the most potent.
A massive hole opened up in the Sun's atmosphere over the weekend, measuring more than 60 times the diameter of the Earth across at its peak.
The international team behind the discovery also found that this type of light, known as gamma rays, is surprisingly bright. That is, there's more of it than scientists had previously anticipated.
The model uses AI to analyze spacecraft measurements of the solar wind and predict where an impending solar storm will strike, anywhere on Earth, with 30 minutes of warning. This could provide just enough time to prepare for these storms.
The leading edge of the first of two major coronal mass ejections will reach Earth at about 1:25 AM EST on the morning of March 8 (plus or minus 7 hours). Such a CME could result in a severe geomagnetic storm, causing aurora at low latitudes, with possible disruption to high frequency radio communication, global positioning systems (GPS), and power grids.