COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, WORLD NEWS: Scientists say Earth can expect a blast from space over the next two days. CNN's Mike Boettcher has more on the sun storm that is expected to buffet Earth.</s>MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ninety-three million miles away, a storm of sorts erupts, caught on camera by an orbiting satellite. It dwarfs anything in the normal human experience. The solar wind in this version of a space hurricane blows at two million miles per hour as it leaves the sun. And its version of precipitation, charged solar particles, will hit Earth's outer atmosphere Thursday night. Don't worry, though. It won't become something that is in the normal human experience - a disaster movie. The Earth does have a natural defense - its magnetic field.</s>DR. GEORGE WITHBROE, NASA SOLAR SCIENTIST: To produce one of those events on the sun is about a billion megatons of TNT equivalent. So these are big explosions, but you have to remember the sun is 93 million miles away, so it doesn't -- no danger to Earth.</s>BOETTCHER: The sun is reaching the height of its recurring 11-year storm cycle and this week's solar eruption, depicted in this NASA animation, is being watched closely by solar scientists, with good reason. Even with Earth's protective magnetic field, major solar storms, like the one approaching, can be disruptive.</s>WITHBROE: What it does is it creates charged particles in the magnetic field which can affect satellites and produce aurora -- you know, Northern Lights and Southern Lights -- and it can produce currents in power lines which sometimes can affect power grids.</s>BOETTCHER: A strong 1989 solar storm blacked out parts of Quebec and the Northeastern United States. Since then, many utilities have taken steps to shield vulnerable systems. Just how well will be tested Thursday night. Mike Boettcher, CNN, Atlanta.
Scientists Keep Close Eye on Solar Storms 