This is an image of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) blasting Comet NEAT as it passes the Sun in Feb. 2003
And this;
A CME erupts from the Sun in January 2002. The actual disc of the Sun, indicated by the white circle, is hidden in this view through an instrument called a coronagraph. The coronagraph creates an artificial eclipse by blocking the too-bright light from the Sun's surface, allowing us to view the Sun's dimmer atmosphere.
By comparison last nights CME was fairly small however mass ejections like these are expected to start up again anytime now with the peak around 2012. solar cycles are regular and are about 11 years long. the last Solar Max was in 2001. In the past, Earths magnetic shield protected us from the radiation but this time around our shields are low and in some areas gone completely. A CME directed at Earth will disrupt Power grids, Satellites, Cell Phones etc. A Bad strike will likely take years to recover from, or worse.
This is the most likely threat to us all, most people will shrug off the prospect of a devastating solar storm until it happens. But if policy-makers show a similar indifference, it could cost millions of lives, and could conceivably be the worst natural disaster in our history
Worst Case Scenario: The “perfect storm” is most likely on a spring or autumn night in a year of heightened solar activity - something like 2012. Around the equinoxes, the orientation of the Earth’s field to the sun makes us particularly vulnerable to a plasma strike.
2012 Equinoxes Mar 20 05:14 & Sept 22 14:49
2012 Solstices June 20 23:09 & Dec 21 11:11
A detailed analysis and warning can be read here:
http://2012info.ca/articles/?p=224