There is a chance that another solar storm could hit later in the day.
The G2 storm, which wreaked havoc on our planet on Sunday, was classified as moderate by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The second storm may hit sometime today.
The weekend storm reached speeds of up to 373 miles per second, according to SpaceWeather.com. According to Space.com, solar winds can reach speeds of 500 miles per second.
If another storm hits, high-latitude power systems could be impacted, which could cause problems for power grids and devices. Some migratory animals rely on Earth's magnetic field to navigate and an increase in high-energy electrons within the magnetosphere could affect spacecraft.
The European probe snaps a close-ever photo of our star.
The sun is spitting out solar storms as it reaches the peak of its 11-year cycle. Sunspots, areas of the sun that appear dark due to being cooler than the rest of the sun's surface, are more likely to pop up because of this. According to Space.com, the spots are cooler and darker because of the strong magnetic fields.
In North America, people uploaded pictures of the sky bursting into brilliant shades of purple and red as a result of the solar storm.
"We've jumped to G2 levels, mainly due to north-south- north flipping of the solar magnetic field," said the space physicist who goes by the name "Space Weather Woman" on Sunday. According to the Australian Academy of Science, the sun's magnetic poles will flip every 11 years and the south pole will become the north pole.
G5 is the highest on the scale. The worst solar storm in recorded history happened in 1859. The storm caused telegraph equipment to spark so wildly that offices were set on fire, according to Space.com.
It was originally published on Live Science
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