NASA captures magnificent 4K video of a flare erupting from the sun
A high-definition 4K video of a flare erupting from the sun is just as great as you'd expect.
On Tuesday, NASA released a video of a flare that burst forth from Earth's nearest star on April 17, as seen by the space agency's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
The flare erupted from a sunspot five times the size of Earth.
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The Solar Dynamics Observatory is designed to keep an eye on the sun in order to help scientists learn more about the star.
Solar flares occur when the sun's magnetic fields break and bend, releasing energy from the star into the solar system.
Sometimes, bursts of hot plasma also erupt from the sun, launching charged particles out into our cosmic neighborhood.
Moderate flares like the one unleashed on April 17 don't usually have any harmful impact on the planet, but more severe solar storms, if directed toward the planet, can harm satellites in orbit or even knock out electrical grids on Earth.
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Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
