For the first time, astronomers say they have spotted a giant explosion released by a star beyond our solar system. The eruption was similar in some ways to those unleashed by our sun, such as the solar storms that graced the night skies with auroras last week on Earth, but at a much grander — and ominous — scale.

Rather than triggering colorful northern lights, this powerful explosion was more likely to have potentially devastating consequences for any nearby planet, according to new research.

A coronal mass ejection, or a CME, was the likely cause of the explosive event. In our solar system, this phenomenon is a large cloud of ionized gas, called plasma, and magnetic fields that erupts from the sun’s outer atmosphere.

When such outbursts are large enough to reach Earth, they can cause space weather, or major disturbances of our planet’s magnetic field.

These powerful solar storms create auroras at Earth’s poles but can also disrupt communications, the power grid and satellite operations.

Astronomers have never been able to detect a coronal mass ejection releasing from another star — until now. Researchers described the groundbreaking finding in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

In pictures: Auroras light the sky during solar storms 7 photos The aurora australis, also known as the southern lights, glowed over the waters of Brighton Beach in Dunedin, New Zealand, on November 13. Sanka Vidanagama/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Auroras light the sky during solar storms The aurora australis, also known as the southern lights, glowed over the waters of Brighton Beach in Dunedin, New Z