The strongest solar storm to hit Earth for six years sparked stunning auroras across the U.S., with intense light displays appearing as far south as Alabama and Northern California. Yet no one saw it coming.
The March 24 solar storm was the result of a "stealth" coronal mass ejection (CME) – or a gargantuan, fast-moving blob of plasma and magnetic field released from the sun – Live Science’s sister site Space.com reports. The CME came from a coronal hole wider than 20 Earths that was spewing out solar winds at speeds over 1.3 million mph (2.1 million km/h).
