Solar Flare Interferes With Radio, But No Big Auroras

The largest solar flare in several years has disrupted some communications, though it was not in the right position to create auroral displays visible from lower latitudes. The flare, which erupted on Feb. 15, sent what is called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, towards the Earth. A CME is billions of tons of charged particles, mostly protons. When the charged particles come close to the Earth, they are forced to move along the magnetic field lines, creating the auroral displays and radio interference. In a worst case, they can damage electrical systems.