On Friday, a huge filament of energy and matter burst from the surface of the sun — and its been hurtling towards our planet ever since.

This blast of solar radiation reached our planet early Tuesday, causing beautiful light displays in the skies above North America.

Conditions could intensify again into a minor solar storm on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the US Space Weather Prediction Centre.

Ahead of the storm, space weather expert Dr Tamitha Skov tweeted on Monday: ‘Direct Hit! A snake-like filament launched as a big #solarstorm while in the Earth-strike zone. Nasa predicts impact early July 19.

‘Strong #aurora shows possible with this one, deep into mid-latitudes. Amateur #radio & #GPS users expect signal disruptions on Earth’s nightside.’

On the surface of the planet, we’re protected from much of the radiation from solar storms by our atmosphere.

That’s not to say intense storms can’t still impact us. Satellites don’t have the same protection, so solar storms can affect them. That means the Earth-based systems that rely on satellites can be vulnerable to space weather.

Skywatchers in some parts of North America have been treated to incredible auroras as geomagnetic activity has intensified in recent days, many of which have been captured in amazing pictures and videos.

In Seattle, Washington state, residents enjoyed beautiful green and lilac ribbons of light in the sky.

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