Giant Solar Storm Hits Earth

Hot enough for ya? A massive solar flare—the biggest in years—hit Earth this morning around 5:45 a.m. ET, with the threat of disrupting electricity grids, airplane routes, and GPS services. Upon its arrival the blast was measured at G1 on an intensity scale of 5, but was expected grow to G3 sometime Thursday. So far, it hasn’t lived up to predictions, but it did knock out some radio communications at the Earth’s poles. It hit the planet at a mind-boggling speed of 4.5 million miles per hour. The bright side? It won’t harm anyone, and it could make for some spectacular light shows.