Mysteries of Light

Solar experts say those bursts can disrupt our magnetic field and affect navigation satellites, communications systems, spacewalking astronauts, oil drillers, homing pigeons and power grids.

In 1989, a solar storm's magnetic disruption knocked out power to 6 million people in Montreal for nine hours, according to the National Weather Service's Space Environment Center.

Pigeons, which rely on a stable magnetic field to navigate, can also be thrown off by such disruptions, scientists say, and sun storm radiation is potentially fatal to astronauts caught in the open.

In addition, pipelines can corrode faster when the magnetic field is altered, sun scientists say. And oil drillers who use Global Positioning System satellites to point their drills can be thrown off if the GPS satellites go haywire.

So, much of the new space science is aimed at forecasting those outbursts, which generate what is essentially space weather. And although space weather isn't yet headed for the evening news, it could be soon. Michael Kaiser, project scientist for NASA's twin STEREO sun satellites, said solar forecasters are about where hurricane experts were in the 1950s.

Currently, the forecast is for mild conditions on the sun. It's cycle is at "solar minimum," with about one solar storm eruption a day vs. five a day during "solar maximum," about a decade from now.

So if you've got pigeons, it's probably okay to let them out.

But do stay tuned.