Yesterday’s gigantic M-9 scale eruption of sunspot 1402 seen in ultraviolet light, as it blasted a cascade of subatomic particles at the Earth and Mars in a spectacular coronal mass ejection. These particles began striking our planet this morning at speeds of several million miles per hour, and should create some spectacular auroral displays as they tear electrons off of atoms in the high thermosphere above our planet (image credit: NASA/SDO).