"An explosion of particles is expected to reach Earth on Thursday, and could lead to visible Northern Lights in much of the country while also raising power grid concerns."

"Periodically, the sun spews out gigantic eruptions of particles into the solar system. Sometimes, when the solar eruptions are aimed right at Earth, the particles may create brilliant auroras in night skies in many parts of the planet. Then there are other occasions when the battering can damage satellites, mangle GPS signals and knock out power grids.

On Wednesday, a federal center issued a space weather severe storm watch after sun-watching spacecraft observed a large solar flare emanating from a sunspot in the sun’s northern hemisphere, accompanied by an explosion of particles known as a coronal mass ejection.

“The concerning thing here is that it was right in the center of the sun,” Shawn Dahl, the service coordinator for the Space Weather Prediction Center, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon."

Kenneth Chang reports for the New York Times October 9, 2024. [2]