Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are normal behavior for the Sun, particularly when it's in the peak of its activity cycle, as scientists believe is the case right now. They often occur in association with each other, erupting from sunspots on the surface of the Sun.

The sun just unleashed one of its largest solar explosions in recent years, temporarily causing a radio blackout on Earth and spitting out a coronal mass ejection that will likely collide with our planet this weekend.

On Oct. 3, the sun released the most powerful solar flare this solar cycle, a colossal X9.05 eruption — and it's heading for Earth.

Blackout A huge solar flare caused a radio blackout on Earth yesterday, according to Spaceweather.com. The event, caused by an exploding sunspot, clocked in as a powerful X-level solar flare and was deemed by experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administation (NOAA) to be the second-strongest of the year so far.