Big solar storm heading toward Earth

Solar Flare - Public Domain

This is not your usual weather forecast. Big storms are brewing. Your umbrella won’t help, but you might want to keep a flashlight handy.

These storms are coming from the sun. It’s raining down a huge amount of radiation. We’re safe, but it could affect power grids, radios and satellites.

Experts say the combined energy from two recent solar events will arrive at Earth on September 13, prompting the Space Weather Prediction Center to issue a strong Geomagnetic Storm Watch.

Whaat kind of watch? Basically, the sun is a giant ball of gas — 92.1% hydrogen and 7.8% helium. Every now and then it spits out a giant burst of radiation called a coronal mass ejection, or CME.

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