Saw a report on the news-- the sun just shot off what they call a "solar tsunami" toward earth. It should hit some time tonight. Its an extra burst of the sun's radiation. Our magnetic field protects us from most of the sun's heat. But tonight, because of this flare, we may be able to see Aurora Borialis as far down as mid California, or further. It can turn the whole sky (or part of it) bright red, green, blue, pink, etc. This one also may or may not cause power outages. Hopefully not. Guess we'll know tomorrow, lol.
It happened before, just over a decade ago (happens about every 11 years). I was living in the mountins of northern California with my dad, and I got up to let my dog in at 1:00am-- the ENTIRE sky was bight red! Scared the heck out of me, lol. Until I found out what it was.
The one they are REALLY worried about is the one due to hit in 2012. That one may be able to knock out the electicity all over the entire earth, for 4 to 7 years!! Cars, computers, phones, and even battery operated items wouldn't work in that case. Even satellites would fall out of the sky, and we'd be left with no way to watch for asteroids, weather, or any other solar activiety... Or military stuff. Guess we'll just have to hope that doesn't happen, hm?