This double X-class flare was unusual because it consisted of two simultaneous explosions, known as a sympathetic solar flare, ejected by a pair of sunspots separated by hundreds of thousands of miles. The tandem explosion launched a massive cloud of plasma and radiation into space, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), that barreled into Earth’s magnetosphere on March 24, 2024. The collision sent shockwaves through the planet’s invisible protective shield, temporarily weakening it and allowing solar radiation to penetrate deeper into the atmosphere than normal. This event also triggered auroras in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the aurora-like phenomenon STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) in Alaska1.