Scientists say destructive solar blasts narrowly missed Earth in 2012Credit: Reuters/NASA/SDO/AIA/Helioviewer/Handout This image, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows the M5.3 class solar flare that peaked on July 4, 2012, at 5:55 AM EDT and released on July 5, 2012. The bursts would have wreaked havoc on the Earth’s magnetic field, matching the severity of the 1859 Carrington event, the largest solar magnetic storm ever reported on the planet.