Watch this enormous solar flare erupt from the sun
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured these images of a large flare erupting from the sun in different wavelengths of light.
The sun unleashed a giant solar flare Monday night that's among the largest ever seen.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the flare growing in at least six different wavelengths of light, visible in the image above.
The flare came from a huge returning sunspot named AR1967 and is rated a powerful X4.9-class.
Solar flares are bursts of X-rays and light that stream out into space, but scientists don't yet know the fine details of what sets them off.
Here's a picture of the flare in ultraviolet light:
This composite image shows the solar flare in ultraviolet light. (NASA/SDO)
And a spectacular shot from farther away:
A far-out view of the giant solar flare that erupted on Feb. 24, 2014. (NASA/SDO)
There's even video of the explosion, courtesy of NASA: