Every now and then large sun storms strike the Earth, where they cause auroras and in rare cases, power cuts. These events are, however, nothing compared to the apocalyptic destruction we would experience if the Earth were struck by a superflare. An international research team suggests that this scenario might be a real possibility.
Solar eruptions consist of energetic particles that are hurled away from the sun into space, where those directed towards Earth encounter the magnetic field around our planet. When these eruptions interact with Earth’s magnetic field they cause beautiful auroras – a poetic phenomenon that reminds us that our closest star is an unpredictable neighbor. Solar eruptions are, however, nothing compared to the eruptions we see on other stars, the so-called ‘superflares’. Superflares have been a mystery since the Kepler mission discovered them in larger numbers four years ago. READ MORE
