Caught In The Act: Solar Flare Time Lapse

On July 19th 2012, NASA captured the full occurrence of a medium-sized solar flare. From a distance, the flare – albeit spectacular in itself – appears quite normal. But, upon closer inspection, the full and mesmerising nature of these looping conflagrations is revealed. Watch as this “moderately powerful” solar flare lets rip with a magnificent coronal mass ejection. Sounds positively filthy. This is followed shortly by gorgeous fiery “rain,” which traces graceful luminous pathways as it falls gently back towards the surface of the sun. These streams are composed of charged plasma, which is moving along the paths of strong magnetic fields. If none of this makes sense to you, it doesn’t matter, because this incredible footage is a visual feast all on its own!

Enjoy!

Video Source: Uploaded by USANewz via National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on YouTube channel https://youtu.be/gOuCikgKRIo

Author: Thea Beckman

Canadian born and South African raised, Thea Beckman AKA Wander Woman Thea, is an experienced travel, food, and wine writer and (amateur) photographer with a devastating love of all of the above. She is a travel bug, a bookworm, and mildly alarmed by how many arthropods she can be at once. When she’s not writing for a living and for pleasure, she enjoys bird-watching, reading, drinking wine, cooking, and SHORT walks on the beach because the summer southeasterly winds in Cape Town are a real bitch. Thea is the author of the book “Why? Because Science!” Facebook @WanderWomanThea Instagram @wander_woman_thea View all posts by Thea Beckman

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