Experts with the British Geological Survey (BSG) have started collecting data from three research sites in the U.K. to determine the effects of massive solar storms on the Earth's electric power grids.

Although coronal mass ejections — giant sun eruptions of super-hot plasma that hurl charged particles across the solar system — are notoriously difficult to predict, scientists are trying to understand the best way to protect the power grid from an overload caused by extreme solar weather. [The Worst Solar Storms in History]