Solar Flare Video: Nasa Footage Of Spectacular Eruption On The Sun

Yesterday morning, a massive eruption occurred on the sun, producing a solar flare and explosion of high energy particles.

NASA later released footage of the spectacle, described by the Geeked on Goddard blog as being "like a fountain of plasma that blasts out of the solar surface, spreads outward, and collapses to splat back down." The video shows darker, relatively cool material splashing back onto the sun's surface as it's drawn in by the star's intense magnetic pull.

For anyone concerned about the potential radiation that occurs from a natural occurrence of the sort, the Atlantic Wire reports that because of the sun's current positioning, the radiation should not have a significant effect when it reaches the earth Wednesday or Thursday.

As NASA scientist C. Alex Young put it, "It's not necessarily anything spectacular as far as space weather ... it's just really, really beautiful."

WATCH:

Comments

[daretothink]

10:15 AM on 06/25/2011

soooo hot...

[BluePhantom2]

07:16 PM on 06/10/2011

Very cool!

[emphatico]

07:41 PM on 06/09/2011

We've got some s#it raging underneath us as well -- inner core of the Earth. That's why I always say that we've got nothing on the Universe.

[dennisrs]

06:55 PM on 06/09/2011

You still here? Shake, shake--Wow I'm still here but one day we won't be talking the day after.

[randyman99]

04:40 PM on 06/09/2011

Cool.

[abuckley23]

04:14 PM on 06/09/2011

Obviously the sun is angry. We need to sacrifice a virgin, now! Any volunteers?

[dennisrs]

06:56 PM on 06/09/2011

Got to go to Egypt to get one of those I guess

[abuckley23]

07:29 PM on 06/09/2011

Is that where they keep them?

[repetter]

01:04 PM on 06/09/2011

I think that was caused by Harper opening his mouth. Or was it John Boehner?

[Ramkshrestha]

08:11 AM on 06/09/2011

Thanks to NASA

[TrendDefender]

01:55 AM on 06/09/2011

The difference between "Solar Flare" and "Solar Flair" explained with pictures at http://bit.ly/lp2LTt

[Overtone]

01:41 AM on 06/09/2011

THE SOLAR THREAT WILL PEAK IN 2013

The NOAA predicts 4 possible "extreme" solar emissions can be anticipated in the current decade.

See TRILLION DOLLAR THREAT at www.aesopinstitute.org for an overview and what can be done to minimize the impact of a collapse of the power grid lasting for weeks in much of the nation.

[Steve Rockett]

01:33 AM on 06/09/2011

Amazing pictures. Thank you NASA.

[Tlaltecuhtli02]

10:31 PM on 06/08/2011

CODE
Let's take this sunscreen thing another step. Most animals on this planet have hair/feath­ers/scales etc to protect them from the extremes of the environment.
Humans have neither nor any claw or tooth as weapons. And the sunlight is apparently is bad for us.
Are you sure we naturally evolved on this planet?

royevatom
You are perfectly capable of tolerating the sun as well as most extremes. It is what you have inherited that causes vulnerability to exposure. You are not an Alien of this planet you have become an Alien of this planet and will soon not be able to survive exposure of any kind.

---
so, 6000 years is enough to cause this extreme of evolutionary change? Drop the hair and feathers, blunt the teeth, clip the claws and become both a d d i c t e d to and allergic to the sun?

All I am asking you is to think about that for a minute. Does that really make sense?

[Liberal Fruitcake]

09:21 PM on 06/08/2011

I predicted this. That's what's happens when you use nucular.

[bbriani3842]

08:55 PM on 06/08/2011

Our Sun was watching Internet Naughties and blew its wad ....

[kosmotis69]

08:19 PM on 06/08/2011

Yep the next one destroys the entire electric grid and we'll be fighting in the streets over
the last loaf of bread while every nuclear power plant has a total meltdown.
What you gonna do when that goes down you supporters of Ahmitt Al Haromni