Last night, NASA reported seeing and photographing this year’s largest solar flare. According to the company, “This is the strongest flare seen so far in 2013. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun’s normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013. Humans have tracked this solar cycle continuously since it was discovered, and it is normal for there to be many flares a day during the sun’s peak activity.”
The photo, though of something quite dangerous (but it can’t pass through Earth’s atmosphere) is really quite beautiful. If anything, it looks like an atom falling apart and being destroyed.
Via The Verge