On August 31, 2012, a massive solar prominence erupted from the Sun’s corona, launching solar material into space. Solar flares, such as this, are intense energy releases from the Sun’s surface, capable of emitting up to 6 × 10²⁵ joules of energy—equivalent to 160 billion megatons of TNT. Often accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), these events eject clouds of charged particles, including electrons, ions, and atoms, which typically reach Earth within one to two days. Such solar activity has the potential to disrupt Earth’s communication systems, satellites, and power grids.
Source: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4909
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