Hakeem Oluseyi, Astrophysicist: Just think of 6gazillions of 7protons coming toward Earth at the same time. There's also 8electrons in there. There's also magnetic fields. And when they hit the Earth's magnetic field or any other 9planet's magnetic field, they interact with that field. And those changes 10generate 11currents which can damage 12power grids, 13satellites, anything that has an 14electrical conductor involved. 

CNN Reporter: The 15National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is describing this storm as an 16extraordinary and very rare event, one that also has them a little concerned. The biggest threats are to satellites and to global power grids. NOAA says it 17notified 18critical 19infrastructure operators and that 20mitigation efforts have been taken, but it's still warning of possible widespread 21voltage control problems. 

Hakeem Oluseyi: The last time we had a big 22power outage 23due to a 24geomagnetic storm was in the 80s. Have we fixed things since then? We're going to find out.