Solar storm from 'canyon-like' hole in the sun could hit Earth as soon as Thursday (Dec. 1)

According to space, a hole in the sun's atmosphere may cause a high-speed stream of solar wind to enter Earth's magnetic field.

The sun's center is covered in a huge solar gulf. The black areas in the sun's upper atmosphere are called coronal holes because they are less hot and dense than other parts of the sun. According to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the sun's magnetic field lines, instead of looping back in on themselves, point outward into space.

The solar debris is absorbed by the Earth's magnetic field and causes a storm. The solar particles zip through the atmosphere near the poles where Earth's protective magnetosphere is weakest and cause them to release energy in the form of light to form colorful Auroras.

Scientists are concerned about an ancient solar storm smashing Earth at the wrong part of the sun's cycle.

The storm is likely to be weak. Predicted to be a G-1 storm, it could cause minor fluctuations in power grids and affect some satellite functions. As far south as Michigan and Maine, it may cause an Aurora to appear.

Extreme storms can have more serious effects. They can warp our planet's magnetic field so much that they can cause satellites to fall to Earth and even cripple the internet.

There are two other forms of solar activity that can cause magnetic storms. According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, it takes 15 to 18 hours for the sun's debris to reach Earth. The bright flashes of solar flares can travel at the speed of light in just 8 minutes.

As the sun ramps up into the most active phase of its 11-year solar cycle, the upcoming storm is just the latest in a string of solar barrages fired at Earth.

The sun has been more active than anticipated, with nearly double the sunspot appearances predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The sun's activity is expected to increase over the next few years, reaching a maximum in the year 2025.

The biggest solar storm in recent history was in 1859 and it released the same amount of energy as 10 billion atomic bombs. After slamming into Earth, the powerful stream of solar particles fried telegraph systems around the world, causing the Auroras to appear as far south as the Caribbean. NASA reported that it released a billion ton of gas and caused a power failure in Quebec. If a solar storm were to happen today, scientists warn it would cause trillions of dollars' worth of damage, like the 1989 solar storm that caused a billion ton of gas to be released into the air and caused a massive power failure in Quebec.

Our star is capable of doing a lot of things. The cause of a series of huge spikes in radiation levels in ancient tree rings is being investigated by scientists. There is a theory that the spikes could have come from solar storms 80 times more powerful than the Carrington event.