On May 2024, those at relatively low latitudes there was rare chance to see the flickering pink, green glow of our planet’s aurorae. This is the result of a powerful solar storm  which had sent bursts of charged particles  barrelling towards Earth and subsequently bounced around in our planet’s atmosphere, displaying spectacular northern and southern lights, treating a myriad of colour as far south as London in the UK and Ohio in the US. Our Sun is currently heading towards it solar maximum the point in an 11-year-old cycle where it is most active. The Sun is producing coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which supercharge the Earth’s magnetic field, causing magnificent aurorae but posing serious problems for satellites and power grids.