Solar plasma cloud approaches Earth, set to trigger first August magnetic storm, Russian science institute says. Peak forecast 18-21 Moscow time as the Sun's ejection grazes Earth at its edge.

A medium-sized plasma cloud ejected by the Sun is approaching Earth and is expected to trigger the first magnetic storm of August, with peak intensity around 18-21 Moscow time, according to the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Space Research Institute and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics. The lab noted the ejection is clearly directed away from the planet but will graze Earth at its edge.