Huge solar flare spotted last month (Video)

WASHINGTON — NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, also known as IRIS, witnessed a huge, solar flare last month — the biggest since its was launched last summer.

The incident occurred on Jan. 28.

Scientists know little about the causes of solar flares but are witnessing how the sun operates under strong magnetic activity.

What they do know is the interface region of the use is more violent than expected and houses fiber-like structures that had not been seen before, the International Business Times reports.

For more information, visit NASA.gov.

Scientists have used footage from IRIS to create the video below:

Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on WTOP Facebook page.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up