A powerful coronal mass ejection occurred on the Sun last night, peaking at 1.14 am US Eastern Time.

Here’s a video of the solar flare as observed by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.

The flare, which is moving towards Earth at some 1,400 kilometres per second, is expected to cause a storm in our planet’s magnetic field within the next 24 hours. NASA says it is unlikely that there will be major disruptions to satellite and communication systems or power grids.

However, if you live at a high-enough latitude watch out tonight for what should be spectacular Northern lights (Aurora Borealis).