Auroras observed across globe as 'extreme' solar storm struck earth

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00:00From Tasmania to Edinburgh, Paris to Michigan, lucky people stepped outside last night to

00:06bask under a beautiful sky.

00:10The northern and southern lights were the strongest they've been in decades, as the

00:14earth was hit by the first extreme category solar storm since 2003.

00:19What happened during the last few days, there is a system of very complex sunspots that

00:25came together and formed a huge active region of the sun.

00:30And these are extremely active in the span of a day or a day and a half.

00:35They launched, I believe, something like seven coronal mass ejections.

00:39Plasma, the charged particles, the magnetic field that makes up the sun, part of it actually

00:44lifts off the sun and streams away into space.

00:50The storm will continue into the weekend, so those rueing a missed opportunity might

00:54get another shot at catching the display.

00:57But watch out, the interference with Earth's magnetic field also threatens possible disruptions.

01:04Authorities have notified satellite operators, airlines and the power grid to take precautionary

01:09measures.

01:10Changing magnetic fields can charge cables with currents that they aren't designed to

01:14handle, potentially leading to blackouts.

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