Dark Fireworks on the Sun

NASA - Dark Fireworks on the Sun: "On June 7, 2011, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a flash of X-rays coming from the western edge of the solar disk. Registering only 'M' (for medium) on the Richter scale of solar flares, the blast at first appeared to be a run-of-the-mill eruption--that is, until researchers looked at the movies.

'We'd never seen anything like it,' says Alex Young, a solar physicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center. 'Half of the sun appeared to be blowing itself to bits.'

'In terms of raw power, this really was just a medium-sized eruption,' says Young, 'but it had a uniquely dramatic appearance caused by all the inky-dark material. We don't usually see that.'"