The Sun was welcomed into the new year by releasing two magnetic filaments from the southern hemisphere. The eruptions took place on January 2, leading to an explosion of energy that could hit the earth. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory filmed the sun particles being thrown into deep space.
A brief explosion can be seen around the six second mark of the video, followed by another at 11 seconds.
Experts said the flares were caused by the buildup of magnetic filament deep in the sun’s core.
When the filaments built up enough, they released a coronal mass ejection (CME) into the solar system.
According to the astronomy website Space Weather, the particles fly through the solar system and could hit the earth in the coming days.
The website said: ‘On January 2, 2021, two dark filaments of magnetism erupted in the southern hemisphere of the sun.
“This movie from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captures them both.
“The double eruption threw several CMEs at each other to the ground. The first CME was slow, the second was faster.
“This could cause the two CMEs to pile on top of each other, amplifying their impact. NOAA forecast models point to an arrival on Earth on January 6th.”
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Solar winds can heat the outer atmosphere of the earth, which can expand.
This could affect satellites in orbit, which could potentially lead to a lack of GPS navigation, cell phones and satellite TV like Sky.
In addition, a surge of particles can lead to high currents in the magnetosphere, which can lead to higher than normal electricity in power lines, leading to electrical transformers and power stations and a loss of power.
Rarely does an event like this happen, with the largest technologically crippling solar storm occurring in 1859, when an increase in electricity during what is now known as the Carrington Event was so strong that telegraph systems went down across Europe.
There are also reports that some buildings caught fire as a result of the electrical surge.