That globe of hot plasma could swallow the Earth whole. No big deal.
Source: nasa.gov / via: io9.com
Yesterday NASA released an awe-inspiring time lapse of the sun from July 2012.
On the 19th of July a solar flare burst from the surface of the sun. Instead of dispersing, the hot plasma became trapped in the magnetic field emanating from the region of the eruption. Normally invisible to the naked eye, the lines of the magnetic field lit up as it captured the flare and forced it back down to the solar surface in a dazzling phenomenon known as a coronal rain.
The time lapse video is approximately one frame every 12 seconds, which is presented at 30 FPS making each second the equivalent of six minutes.
The terrifying beauty of Nature, now in handy GIF format.
