A solar storm is a massive eruption of energy and charged particles from the Sun that, when directed toward our planet, can cause a significant disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field known as a geomagnetic storm. These events typically begin when twisted magnetic fields on the Sun snap and reconnect, releasing a burst of radiation called a solar flare or an enormous cloud of plasma known as a coronal mass ejection (CME). As these particles reach Earth, they smash into the magnetosphere—our in