The Sun X-ray

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft captured this image of a solar flare, the third most powerful ever observed in X-ray wavelengths as it erupted from the sun early on Tuesday, October 28, 2003. The flare, in the lower center of the image, was preceded by a Coronal Mass Ejection, which blasted electrically charged gas toward the Earth, threatening to disrupt power grids and satellite operations.