Pc Today 8/9/11

JUST MISSED A "BIG ONE"

In case you weren't aware,

our sun roared out a massive solar flare Sunday.

NASA caught it on film (pictured here.)

The spectacular blast was ranked as a Class-M flare,

just one spot below the most disruptive type of flare, X.

The flare gave us a "glancing blow",

just missing a direct hit, which reached earth Monday

causing minor disruptions to satellites and power grids.

It could have been much worse,

so thank your lucky stars (especially our sun.)

A direct sun flare hit to our planet

would cause black outs and communications disruptions.

A major solar storm could be disastrous.

The sun is entering a particularly active time, says NASA,

and big flares like this recent one will likely be

more common the next few years.