NASA captures powerful solar flare from the Sun

The Sun unleashed an X-flare, the strongest type of solar radiation outburst, on June 20, which was caught on camera by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The flare was associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME), a huge cloud of superheated plasma that the Sun blasted into space. The CME was not aimed at Earth and will not ramp up any auroral displays here, but the solar plasma may spark a glowing light show on Mars that will be visible in a few days to orbiters there, such as NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN).