Scientists have revealed that Earth came perilously close to a solar storm that could have 'changed life as we know it', causing widespread power failures and knocking out GPS and communication networks.
On July 23, 2012, a plasma cloud or 'CME' rocketed away from the sun as fast as 3000 km/s, more than four times faster than a typical eruption.
Had the eruption occurred just one week earlier, the blast site would have been facing Earth, rather than off to the side.
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