A series of three powerful flares and associated explosions of solar material out across the Solar System have set Earth squarely in the path of a “severe”-level geomagnetic storm.
According to models, the material from all three eruptions will converge on our planet almost simultaneously, resulting in an auroral storm that may reach latitudes far lower than where these lights in the sky usually appear.
Space weather forecasting bodies are predicting a G4-level geomagnetic storm, with the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Center even warning of the chance of a G5.
Related: The Most Violent Solar Storm Ever Detected Hit Earth in 12350 BCE
frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen>
All three flares erupted from a particularly spicy sunspot region, named AR4274, currently making its way across the face of the Sun. All three are also categorized as X-class flares – the most powerful flares our Sun can produce.
The first, an X1.7 flare, erupted on November 9; the second, an X1.2, on November 10; and on November 11, an X5.1, the most powerful flare yet of 2025, roared forth.
The X5.1 flare that took place on November 11 in 131 angstroms with an overlay showing the Earth to scale. (NASA SDO/Helioviewer)
Each of these was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, or CME. This is a giant expulsion of solar material, sending billions of tons of solar plasma and entangled magnetic fields hurtling through the Solar System.
When Earth’s in the way of a CME, the impact triggers a geomagnetic storm, with levels of severity from G1 (mildest) to G5 (strongest).
On some rare occasions, geomagnetic storms can be problematic, or even dangerous.
Particle interactions in Earth’s atmosphere, as solar material slams into it, can generate electrical currents that cause surges, disrupting power grid operations, as seen in a giant 1989 event.
They can cause navigation, communication, and radio blackouts. They also affect objects in near-Earth space, such as aircraft and satellites.
The good part is that these particle interactions are also what generate the auroras borealis and australis – and the current forecast suggests that this light show might be an event not to miss.
Here is the X5.1 flare in straight EUV light. We are looking at the 193 Å “gold” filter here. The flare is the bright flash, and immediately, you can see a giant blast wave racing through the Sun’s corona, lifting tons of plasma into space as an Earth-directed CME.
— Vincent Ledvina (@vincentledvina.bsky.social) 2025-11-11T14:08:17.319Z
The forecast is so powerful because each CME in the triplet is traveling faster than the one that erupted before it. When a CME catches up to a slower, earlier one, the result is what we call a cannibal CME, where the effects on Earth are amplified.
The spectacular G5-level geomagnetic storm of May 2024 was the result of a triple cannibal CME.
Current modelling suggests that the incoming CMEs will catch up to each other right when they reach Earth – so we’re right in the path of a powerful geomagnetic storm that could rival that of 2024.
This means we’re likely not in danger, but you may be in for a spectacle over the next few nights. So stay warm, stay safe – and get the heck out there and look at the sky.
