Coronal mass ejections see millions of tons of material blasted out into space—the making of beautiful auroras around our polar regions if we're in the line of fire. Sometimes powerful magnetic field lines prevent the material from escaping, and draw it back into the Sun's surface—usually at a sunspot. They're so huge they would dwarf our entire planet, and they're magnificent.
But now and then, along comes an eruption that just leaves you in awe...
This huge explosion actually happened back in July 2012, but NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Centre only released the video this week. It covers 9.5 hours, sped up to 3.5 minutes of gorgeous, lingering golden rain...
I'll let NASA describe it: