Sun Slings Colossal Solar Wave of Super-Hot Plasma (Video)

The sun put on quite the display this May Day. It unleashed a colossal wave of super-hot plasma into space. Known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), this spectacular event was caught on camera by NASA scientists.

CMEs sling billions of tons of solar particles into space, which can reach our planet days after the event. These particles can move at over a million miles per hour and can interrupt radio signals and affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Fortunately for us, this particular CME wasn't directed at the Earth.

That doesn't mean that we won't see more CMEs in the future, though. As the sun reaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle in late 2013, these events are becoming more and more common. In fact, another CME that occurred on April 11 this year actually was associated with a brilliant display of northern lights that occurred a few days later. The CME occurred after a M6.5 solar flare, which was the strongest seen yet this year. It actually caused a R2 radio blackout, though it didn't last for long (blackouts are categorized between R1 and R5 on NOAA's space weather scales).

How did NASA actually capture this particular ejection? NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is just one of several sun-watching spacecraft that keeps constant vigil over our sun. This way, scientists can monitor activity that could affect our planet or could impact nearby space "weather." In addition, the observatory allows them to get some stunning images of our nearest star.

The latest video that NASA released was taken in extreme ultraviolet light and covers about two and a half hours in total, despite the speed that you see on the video. Check it out below, courtesy of NASA, originally appearing here. 

Want to see more stunning images of our sun? Check out NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and all of their pictures here.