© USGSThe arc of light heading towards the earth is a coronoal mass ejection, which impacts the earth's magnetic field (shown in purple), causing magnetic storms.
Everyone is familiar with weather systems on Earth like rain, wind and snow. But space weather - variable conditions in the space surrounding Earth - has important consequences for our lives inside Earth's atmosphere.
Solar activity occurring miles outside Earth's atmosphere, for example, can trigger magnetic storms on Earth. These storms are visually stunning, but they can set our modern infrastructure spinning.
On Jan. 19, scientists saw a solar flare in an active region of the Sun, along with a concentrated blast of solar-wind plasma and magnetic field lines known as a coronal mass ejection that burst from the Sun's surface and appeared to be headed for Earth.
When these solar winds met Earth's magnetic field, the interaction created one of the largest magnetic storms on Earth recorded in the past few years. The storm peaked on Jan. 24, just as another storm began.
"These new storms, and the storm we witnessed on Sept 26, 2011, indicate the up-tick in activity coming with the Earth's ascent into the next solar maximum," said USGS geophysicist Jeffrey Love." This solar maximum is the period of greatest activity in the solar cycle of the Sun, and it is predicted to occur sometime in 2013, which will increase the amount of magnetic storms on Earth.
Comment: There may be several reasons why scientists are studying earth's magnetic field: New Sott Report: Strange Noises in the Sky: Trumpets of the Apocalypse?