Sun unleashes powerful storms, triggers blackouts and auroras.

A rare double solar flare eruption has triggered blackouts over North America and the Pacific Ocean. The eruption also hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) cloud, but it remains to be confirmed whether it was Earth-directed or not. Solar storms can damage small satellites, impact mobile networks, GPS, and even pose a threat to ground-based electronics and power grids by increasing the magnetic potential by huge amounts. NOAA's DSCOVR satellite monitors solar storms and the Sun's behavior.