I get this question a lot when I show people eruptions I capture on the sun.
Can they be harmful to Earth? I've captured plasma storms and short-lived solar flares.
Activity on the sun can range from solar flares, which just emit light and other electromagnetic radiation, to coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which involve the significant release of plasma from the Sun's outer corona layer.
A CME can cause a temporary disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field.
The largest geomagnetic storm, the Carrington Event, was recorded in September 1859. It took down parts of the US telegraph network, started fires, and even shocked some telegraph operators.
In 1989, a geomagnetic storm disrupted electric power distribution throughout most of Quebec.
Can such a solar storm happen again in our lifetime and what would happen?
No one knows the answers to these questions with certainty.