NASA On Air: NASA Spacecraft Observes Solar Flare (3/13/2014)

1. This flare erupted on Tuesday, January 7, 2014.

2. For scale, the dark-colored sun spot is huge...about twice the size of Earth.

3. NASA’s SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) spacecraft, launched in 2010, studies the sun’s magnetic fields.

4. Flares are related to the reconnection, or short-circuiting, of magnetic loops

TAG: Though not a threat to humans, SOME solar flares can disrupt GPS and communication signals.