On July 23, 2012, a massive, potentially damaging, solar storm (solar flare, coronal mass ejection and electromagnetic radiation) barely missed Earth.
According to NASA, there may be as much as a 12% chance of a similar event occurring between 2012 and 2022.
A solar flare is a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun, usually observed near its surface. Powerful flares are often, but not always, accompanied by a coronal mass ejection. Even the most powerful flares are barely detectable in the total solar irradiance.
Solar flares occur in a power-law spectrum of magnitudes; an energy release of typically 1020 joules of energy is considered to be the median for a well-observed event, while a major event can emit up to 1025 joules.
The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms along through the Sun's corona into outer space, and also emits radio waves.
If ejection is in the direction of the Earth, the particles hitting the upper atmosphere can cause bright auroras, and may even disrupt long range radio communication. It usually takes a day or two for the particles to reach Earth. Flares also occur on other stars, where the term stellar flare applies.
Source: Wiki
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Source: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12640
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