NASA astronomers are monitoring the situation closely 

A solar flare resulting from a sunspot struck the Earth’s atmosphere on Monday, February 8, sparking a G1 class solar storm.

A G1 class solar storm can lead to “weak power grid fluctuations” and can have a “minor impact on satellite operations”. These storms can lead to “power grid fluctuations” and can have a “minor impact on satellite operations”.

Solar storms of this magnitude can also cause spectacular displays of the Northern Lights, and Norwegian photographer Markus Varis snapped a spectacular image of the aurora which looked like rolling green waves in the sky.

The phenomenon known as the Northern Lights - also known the Aurora Borealis - is caused when cosmic radiation hits electrically charged particles in the earth's atmosphere 

He said: "I have never seen auroras with such incredible shapes before, even after more than 1000 nights of observing. It rocked our socks off.”

It’s rare that coronal mass ejections hit the Earth head-on, but when they do, the effects can be spectacular.

In September 1859, a massive plume of solar plasma caused phenomenon known as The Carrington Event which caused massive damage to the fledgeling telegraph network in Europe and North America.

Sunspots are caused by intense magnetic flux within the Sun 

Some operators reported receiving electric shocks and others reported they could still use their equipment even without the batteries attached.

The Northern Lights were bright enough that people across the northeastern US could read newspapers by their light.

If such an event were to occur today it would cause mayhem, because the modern world is so hugely dependent on electronics.