Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: A huge solar flare is seen moving out from our Sun in this condensed half-hour time-lapse sequence. Ten Earths could easily fit in the "claw" of this seemingly solar monster. This large flare, though, is significant not only for its size, but its shape. The twisted figure eight shape indicates that a complex magnetic field threads through the emerging solar particles. Recent evidence of differential rotation inside the Sun might help account for the flare's creation. The sequence was taken early this year by the Sun-orbiting SOHO satellite. Although large flares, large prominences, and energetic Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are relatively rare, they are occurring more frequently now that we are near the Solar Maximum, a time of peak sunspot and solar activity in the eleven-year solar cycle.