Solar storms of different types are caused by disturbances on the Sun, most often from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares from active regions, or, less often, from coronal holes. Minor to active solar storms (i.e. storming restricted to higher latitudes) may occur under elevated background solar wind conditions when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation is southward, toward the Earth (which also leads to much stronger storming conditions from CME-related sources). Background Active stars produce disturbances in space weather and, if strong enough, in their own space climate. Science studies such phenomena with the field of heliophysics, which is an interdisciplinary combination of solar physics and planetary science. In the Solar System, the Sun can produce intense geomagnetic and energetic particle storms capable of causing severe damage to technology. It can result in large scale power outages, disruption or blackouts of radio communications (including GPS), damage or destruction of submarine communications cables, and temporary to permanent disabling of satellites and other electronics. Intense solar storms may also be hazardous to high-latitude, high-altitude aviation and to human spaceflight. Geomagnetic storms are the cause of aurora. The most significant known solar storm, across the most parameters, occurred in September 1859 and is known as the "Carrington event". The damage from the most potent solar storms is capable of existentially threatening the stability of modern human civilization, although proper preparedness and mitigation can substantially reduce the hazards. Proxy data from Earth, as well as analysis of stars similar to the Sun, suggest that the Sun may be also capable of producing so called superflares, which are as much as 1000x stronger than any flares in the historical record. Other research, like models of solar flares and statistics of extreme solar events reconstructed using cosmogenic isotope data in terrestrial archives, indicate otherwise. The discrepancy is not yet resolved and may be related to a biased statistic of the stellar population of solar analogs. Coronal mass ejections and solar particle events Events affecting Earth Proxy evidence This section contains a list of possible events that are indicated by indirect, or proxy data. The scientific value of such data remains unresolved. 7176 BCE Found in beryllium-10 (and other isotopes) spike in ice cores and corroborated by tree rings. It unexpectedly appears to have occurred near a Solar minimum and was as strong as, or probably even slightly stronger than the famous 774–775 CE event.