Sun Explodes With Coronal Mass Ejection, Public Not Told...06/09/99
Until One Week Later

Devastating Explosion Occurred On The Sun, Last Tuesday  (June 1st)
By BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse
 

A tremendous explosion took place on the surface of the Sun last Tuesday (June 1st) and for a few very nervous hours astronomers did not know whether it was heading for Earth.

The blast threw a jet of superheated plasma carrying magnetic energy into space at speeds of 1,000 kilometres per second (600 miles per second). However, using the speed of the Internet, astronomers around the world rapidly compared images and decided that a worldwide alert was unnecessary.

"Planet-buster"

The Solar and Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) satellite observed the solar explosion, which astronomers call a coronal mass ejection (CME).

The explosive event was "a real planet-buster", according to Dr Richard Fisher of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre. If the magnetic energy within the cloud of super hot gas had interacted with the Earth's magnetic field it would have sparked spectacular aurora at polar latitudes.

But more worryingly it could also induce power blackouts, block radio communications and trigger phantom commands capable of sending satellites spinning out of their proper orbits. Cellular phones, global positioning signals and space-walking astronauts were all at risk.