Gallery: Restless Sun Unleashes Three Huge Flares
01x3-2-solar-flare
X3.2 solar flare. Video produced by <helioviewer.org>. *otraLoly/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNrr4qZqw40)*
02x1-7-solar-flare
The sun erupted with an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013. This is a blend of two images of the flare from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory: One image shows light in the 171-angstrom wavelength, the other in 131 angstroms. *[NASA/SDO/AIA](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News051213-flare.html)*
03x2-8-solar-flare
On May 13, 2013, an X2.8-class flare erupted from the sun -- the strongest flare of 2013 to date. This image of the flare, shown in the upper left corner, was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in light of 131 angstroms, a wavelength that is particularly good for capturing the intense heat of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal. *[NASA/SDO/AIA](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News051213-flare.html)*
04magnetic-loops
Image in extreme-ultraviolet (171 angstrom wavelength). This shows the hot plasma (~1 million degrees F) and magnetic loops sitting over top the sunspots. The magnetic loops themselves are invisible but they fill up with hot plasma, allowing you to see them -- much like tubes in a neon sign. These are the loops that flares generally come from. *Alex Young, helioviewer.org*
05three-x-flares-in-24-hours
These pictures from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory show the three X-class flares that the sun emitted in under 24 hours on May 12-13, 2013. The images show light with a wavelength of 131 angstroms, which is particularly good for showing solar flares and is typically colorized in teal. *[NASA/SDO/AIA](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News051213-flare.html)*
06three-solar-flares-video
Three X-class flares. Video is a composite of images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. *thesuntoday/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=J6uzqQO-KJc)*
Image: Emotient07active-region
The sunspot region to the left is responsible for producing three X-class flares in 24 hours. Soon, it will rotate fully into view. *Alex Young, helioviewer.org*
08x3-2-coronal-mass-ejection
Observed by the SOHO/LASCO C2 instrument. *The Sun Today, [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/thesuntoday)*
09spacecraft-in-the-path
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Space Weather Research Center has estimated that the third coronal mass ejection will merge with CMEs associated with the two previous X-flares (X1.7 and X2) and may give glancing blows to STEREO B and Epoxi, and hit Spitzer directly. *The Sun Today, [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/thesuntoday)*
10x-flares-video
On May 12-13, 2013, the sun erupted with an X1.7-class and an X2.8-class flare, as well as two coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, off the upper left side of the sun. Solar material also danced and blew off the sun in what’s called a prominence eruption on the lower right side of the sun. This movie compiles imagery of this activity from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and from NASA and the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. *NASA/SDO/ESA/SOHO*
