However, the storm's importance is that it signaled the beginning of an era of increased activity for the sun, which had been largely dormant for many years. Most people were possibly unaware of the solar storm because it was not especially strong. In years, the largest geomagnetic storm was caused when debris expelled from the sun's surface collided with the magnetic field covering the planet. Researchers point out, though, that the effects of a solar storm and space weather can be felt far outside the northern and southern lights.Įxperts Explain How 'Harmful' Solar Storms Areīloomberg said it doesn't take a powerful solar storm to have an effect on Earth. Phillips said NOAA researchers are still 'untangling the clouds' to see if any could reach Earth. Many overlapping CMEs were launched into space, according to him, as a result of the rapid fire blasts. 'NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded 9 C-class flares and 2 M-class flares in only 24 hours,' Dr. Tony Phillips of Space Weather wrote on Space Weather.ĪLSO READ: Great Fire Solar Storm in 1582 Could Hit Earth Again, Causing Damage 'Yesterday, May 22, sunspot AR2824 unleashed a flurry of solar flares, unlike anything we've seen in years,' astronomer Dr. Experts aren't sure if the flares will reach Earth directly, but they'll most likely glance off the globe on May 26. If the magnetosphere is bombarded by solar winds, dazzling blue lights will emerge as the electrons are deflected by that layer of the atmosphere. Auroras, such as the northern lights (aurora borealis) and the southern lights (aurora australis), are caused when solar particles collide with the Earth's atmosphere. Other solar flares have been classified as 'C-class.' While these solar flares are small, they can still cause auroras. Solar flares can be harmful to radio waves and when they enter the atmosphere, they cause ionization, which depletes the energy of radio waves.

Solar flares of the M-class have the potential to trigger radio blackouts on Earth. The bursts were fairly powerful, with some being classified as 'M-class.' It resulted in particles being fired into the solar system. Powerful Solar Flares BurstsĪccording to Express, experts noted a newly-emerged sunspot released a 'flurry' of solar flares on May 22.

(Photo: Credits: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory/Scientific Visualization Studio/Tom Bridgman, Lead Animator)Ĭoronal rain, like that shown in this movie from NASA's SDO in 2012, is sometimes observed after solar eruptions, when the intense heating associated with a solar flare abruptly cuts off after the eruption and the remaining plasma cools and falls back to the solar surface.