Science: Storm on the Sun

It was as if a poltergeist had suddenly gone on a global rampage. At higher latitudes, large glowing streaks and patches of light appeared in the nighttime sky. Short-wave radio communications were disrupted, compass needles danced dizzily back and forth, and utilities braced for stray surges of current that could knock out their power lines. Even the navigational ability of pigeons was believed to be temporarily impaired. These strange doings were not the work of an earthly ghost, but had their source in very real events occurring some 93 million miles away. With...

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