The Sun sent out a monster solar flare of high-energy radiation that NASA captured on Thursday in what NOAA Space Weather said was “likely one of the largest” such events ever recorded.
Why it matters: These powerful bursts of energy “can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts,” per a NASA statement. Radio frequency blackouts were reported across the U.S. after this one.
Although rare, these large bursts of plasma from the Sun, known as extreme coronal mass ejections (CME), could cause a months-long blackout on Earth, billions of dollars in damage and harm satellites.
A Lancaster University study published Monday found these solar storms can also cause errors on railways, switching train signals from red to green in “the worst case scenario.”