NASA | Spectacular Solar Rain: Fiery Looping Phenomenon on the Sun

Experience the breathtaking diversity of solar eruptive events in this captivating footage from July 19, 2012. On that day, the sun treated us to a trifecta of solar phenomena. It all started with a moderate solar flare on the lower right-hand limb, emitting light and radiation. Following the flare, a coronal mass ejection (CME) shot off into space. To top it off, the sun showcased its magnetic artistry with a mesmerizing display of coronal rain.

Over the subsequent day, scorching-hot plasma in the corona cooled and condensed along powerful magnetic field lines. While magnetic fields are invisible, the charged plasma traced their movements, prominently visible in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 304 Angstroms, representing material at approximately 50,000 Kelvin. This plasma served as a guide, enabling scientists to observe the intricate dance of magnetic fields on the sun as it gradually descended back to the solar surface.

This remarkable video was captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory's AIA instrument, with one frame recorded every 12 seconds. The video runs at 30 frames per second, translating each second of footage into 6 minutes of real-time action. The video encompasses the timeframe from 12:30 a.m. EDT to 10:00 p.m. EDT on July 19, 2012.