At the risk of sounding dense, and getting "stfu and google" sent back at me... what exactly is going on ? I have HEARD this term but I really don't know what it is.
Apparently, I am on the edge of it and should see it.
STFU and Google.
But no;
The sun is undergoing Coronal Mass Ejection - that's when it throws part of itself off into space - if you've ever seen the intro to Star Trek Voyager, like that, but MASSIVE.
When the energy from this, in the form of solar wind, hits a planet with an atmosphere, it dumps a lot of energy into it - this causes Aurora. Aurora is just where electrically charged particles strike atoms in the thermosphere; these particles originate in solar winds, and they also generate naturally in the Magnetosphere, and then the Earth's natural magnetic field directs them into the atmosphere.
If it's powerful enough, and they're correctly oriented, it will actually generate power
in the powerlines ; This leads to surges and can completely wreck a power distribution network.
There was a medium-sized discharge on the 26th, and there's another, bigger one, expected in the next 24 hours. You can see the effects of the first one still, though it's waxing and waning. Last night was quite spectacular - take a look at spaceweather.com, they've a load of photos from last night on there.
If you want a proper explanation, wiki "Coronal mass ejection", "Aurora (astronomy)", "Ionosphere" and "Magnetic Storm".
