If you've ever wanted to see a solar flare as it happens, you're in luck. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recently captured video footage of a solar flare on the right side of the sun.
Solar flares are flashes of brightness on the sun's surface that release powerful radiation. Fortunately, this radiation does not affect humans on Earth, but can often disrupt things in space, such as satellites.
This particular solar flare peaked on Oct. 2, 2014 around 3. p.m. EDT. The agency classified it as an M7.3 flare. M-class flares are "mid-level" flares, which means they're only about one-tenth as powerful as the largest flares, called X-class flares.
NASA's SDO is a satellite designed to specifically look at the sun every day for 24 hours in hopes of learning more about space weather and how it affects objects in space. The powerful satellite collects enough data on the sun to fill a CD every 36 seconds. Because of this, it has its own ground station in New Mexico for collecting and storing that data.
SDO also recently discovered and captured a photo of a gigantic filament of solar material on the front of the sun. This filament is frozen in place, held there by the sun's magnetic forces. If straightened out, it would measure about 1 million miles, allowing it to stretch across the surface of the sun.
