Having a Blast on the Sun!

This photo by the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter
spacecraft on February 15, 2022, is the largest
solar prominence eruption ever observed in a
single image together with the full disc of the sun.
(European Space Agency photo)

A huge solar flare extending millions of miles into space was photographed by the NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) Solar Orbiter spacecraft on February 15. According to ESA, the photo represents the largest solar flare ever observed in a single image together with the full disc of the sun. A flare consists of a dense concentration of solar plasma that is released into space by the breakdown of a "solar prominence," which ESA describes as a large structure "made of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface and often take the form of arching loops."

If directed toward Earth, the plasma blast can disrupt radio communications and – if strong enough – damage satellites and even damage electrical grids on the surface. (A flare can also result in stronger than usual auroras, a boon to weak-signal VHF enthusiasts.) This flare, fortunately, was directed away from the Earth, but the rising sunspot cycle is likely to result in more flares as solar activity "heats up" over the next few years.