Radio blackout over North America: Twin Blasts from Sun

Sun has exploded with twin flares. A G1 class minor geomagnetic storm hit Earth after a Coronal Mass Ejection erupted from the Sun and came hurtling toward the planet.

The extreme ultraviolet radiation from the double blast ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over North America and the Pacific Ocean.

Geomagnetic storms are caused by the interaction between the magnetic fields. The explosion was also picked up by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory: The solar flare hurtles another CME that could reach Earth on May 11 and spark a G2 to G3-class geomagnetic storm.

Earth was recently hit by a major bout of geomagnetic storms that triggered auroras. The mysterious phenomenon was observed in India’s Ladakh as well and was picked up by the Indian Astronomical Observatory.

The aurora was captured on April 22-23 night after a coronal mass ejection was hurtled from the Sun on April 21. The CME struck Earth at a speed of 21,60,000 kilometers per hour.