Solar far so good

A solar storm it was feared may wreak havoc with the Earth's satellites and power grids, appears to have passed without serious incident.

The sudden release of magnetic energy stored in the Sun's atmosphere can cause a bright flare. This can also release bursts of charged particles into space, these solar eruptions are known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs. When headed in our direction, the charged gas collides with the magnetic sheath around Earth. The subsequent disturbances in the Earth's magnetic envelope are called solar storms.

Joseph Kunches, a scientist with US weather agency Noaa, yesterday said: "The freight train has gone by, and is still going by, and now we're just watching for how this is all going to shake out".

Although satellite and power systems have been spared until now, the geomagnetic storm could still intensify until today, US space weather experts have predicted.

More solar disruptions are still a possibility. The part of the sun that spawned the flares has been pretty quiet in the last 24 hours, but that could change, Kunches said, adding “forecasters are still suspicious that (the Sun) could produce some more eruptive activity.”

"The part of the Sun where this came from is still active," David Kerridge, director of geoscience research at the British Geological Survey told BBC News. "It's a 27-day cycle and we're right in the middle of it, so it is coming straight at us and will be for a few days yet. We could see more material," he explained.

Dr Craig Underwood, from the Surrey Space Centre, UK, said: "The event is the largest for several years, but it is not in the most severe class. We may expect more storms of this kind and perhaps much more severe ones in the next year or so as we approach solar maximum.

"Such events act as a wake-up call as to how our modern western lifestyles are utterly dependent on space technology and national power grid infrastructure."

Not quite time to put those candles away then...