A solar flare captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet light. Here we see a fiery orange and black orb and at one point a white-hot explosion taking place.

A solar flare captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet light. Here we see a fiery orange and black orb and at one point a white-hot explosion taking place. (Image credit: NASA/SDO)

In January, Earth will be at its closest point to the sun all year long. Our planet will be approximately 3 million miles closer to the sun than it is to the aphelion, its farthest point from the sun.

The star decided to mark the occasion with a bang. The sun's corona mass ejection will slam into the earth's magnetic field on January 4 and 5.

The collision is expected to cause a minor G1 class geomagnetic storm that could briefly frazzle power grids, cause radio blackouts and push colorfulAuroras much farther south than usual.

The weak-ranking storm is not likely to have a long-term impact on our planet or its inhabitants.

What is perihelion?

Earth does not circle the sun in a perfect circle. Earth moves closer to the sun during certain parts of the year.

The official beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere occurs a few weeks after the winter solstice, when the North Pole is at its farthest tilt away from the sun. Earth's tilt toward or away from the sun is at the center of the relationship between the two planets.

The date of perihelion is always changing due to small quirks in our planet's path. The winter solstice and perihelion occurred on the same day. According to Live Science's sister site Space.com, perihelion will coincide with the spring equinox in the year 6430.

Explosions from the sun

his illustration shows a coronal mass ejection (CME) blasting off the Sun’s surface in the direction of Earth. Two to four days later, the CME cloud is shown striking and beginning to be mostly deflected around the Earth’s magnetosphere. The blue paths emanating from the Earth’s poles represent some of its magnetic field lines.

This illustration shows a coronal mass ejection (CME) blasting off the Sun's surface in the direction of Earth. Two to four days later, the CME cloud is shown striking and beginning to be mostly deflected around the Earth's magnetosphere. The blue paths emanating from the Earth's poles represent some of its magnetic field lines. (Image credit: NASA/GSFC/SOHO/ESA To learn more go to the SOHO website: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html To learn more about NASA's Sun Earth Day go here: sunearthday.nasa.gov/2010/index.php )

This year's perihelion coincides with a storm.

These storms occur when charged solar particles crash into Earth's magnetic field and cause some particles to rain down on the planet. The majority of the storms are minor and result in clear skies. The Carrington event can cause mass electrical disruptions around the world if it pushes the Auroras from the poles to the equator.

When magnetic-field lines at the sun's surface become too tangled and suddenly snap, there's a big eruption of charged particles released from the sun. Sunspots are dark regions of intense magnetic activity that open and close on the sun's surface.

If a sunspot is pointed toward Earth during one of these magnetic snaps, the resulting solar wind will blow towards us over the course of several days. The sunspot burst out of the Earth's view on December 30th.

You're not imagining it if it feels like you've been hearing about it a lot recently. There is an 11-year cycle of activity on the sun, with more sunspots and magnetic disruptions appearing close to the peak activity of the solar maximum. The next solar maximum is predicted by NASA. There will be more solar storms as this point approaches.

Solar Dynamics ObservatoryNASA Solar DynamicsNASA Sun EarthEarth
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