| UPDATED: 15:20, Wed, Feb 17, 2021 Link copied Sign up for FREE for the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks SUBSCRIBE Invalid email When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Several small cracks have temporarily opened in Earth's magnetic shield, astronomers have revealed. The phenomenon is relatively common and occurs when Earth is under an intense barrage of solar particles. Earth is now in the midst of the aftermath of a solar storm - which is seeing a barrage of particles hit our planet after travelling from the Sun - which allowed the cracks to open.