Solar flare cracked Earth's magnetic field: Study
Researchers at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research discovered a 'crack' in the magnetic field enveloping Earth, caused by bombardment of very high-energy plasma particles from a solar flare. The bombardment temporarily shrank the magnetosphere from 11 times to 4 times the radius of Earth, exposed the surface to cosmic radiation, and caused radio signal blackouts in high latitude countries. 