Essentially a huge coronal mass ejection (can we just call it a solar flare?) happened but good thing it wasn't pointed towards earth.
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Solar prominences are often associated with coronal mass ejections, a hugely energetic explosion of light, solar material and energy from the Sun. If these ejections are directed toward Earth, they can disrupt technology reliant on satellites. The ejections also cause the northern lights.
However, in this instance, the coronal mass ejection was traveling away from us.
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I would hate to be on a plane which got hit. I assume the FAA and like will warn all airlines. It will be mass chaos if we lose or had spotty internet.
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It's important to understand the solar cycle because space weather caused by the sun -- eruptions like solar flares and coronal mass ejection events -- can impact the power grid, satellites, GPS, airlines, rockets and astronauts in space.
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Last time it happened was 1859 with the "Carrington Effect" which caused havoc with the telegraphs (internet of its day).
https://www.history.com/news/a-perfe...rrington-event
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Compared to today’s information superhighway, the telegraph system in 1859 may have been a mere dirt road, but the “Victorian Internet” was also a critical means of transmitting news, sending private messages and engaging in commerce. Telegraph operators in the United States had observed local interruptions due to thunderstorms and northern lights before, but they never experienced a global disturbance like the one-two punch they received in the waning days of summer in 1859.
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