Power outage: Could a solar storm switch off the world’s technology?

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, at Selfoss in southern Iceland. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind, the stream of particles and plasma emanating from the sun. During a solar storm, or disturbance on the sun, high-energy particles and a massive plasma cloud can emanate outwards across the heliosphere towards the planets, potentially massively disrupting infrastructure on and around Earth. — dpa

NEW YORK: Solar storms make for wonderful light shows as auroras zipping through the heavens but they can also bring about a state of emergency.

The phenomenon doesn’t present any danger to the Earth as a planet, but could well harm humans who are increasingly dependent on technology.