Published on April 25, 2017
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured dramatic views of the
March 7 X5.4 solar flare in extreme ultraviolet light. The gold images
show the sun at a wavelength of 171 Angstroms, which corresponds to a
temperature of 1 million degrees F (600,000 C). Teal images (131
Angstroms) show features 18 times hotter. The blast triggers waves that
traverse the sun at 1 million mph.