Solar Storms: Recent Events and Impacts on Earth
An explosion on the sun spewed 'dark plasma' into space that resulted in a moderate G2-class geomagnetic storm on Wednesday. The eruption was detected on March 11 by coronagraphs at NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite. This "dark plasma" is cooler and less luminous than the background sun and denser than gas surrounding it in the sun's atmosphere. The effects of this CME were seen on Earth today in the form of auroras and a moderate and a short-lived G2-class geomagnetic storm.