NASA releases vision of powerful solar flare

You might call it the greatest show not on Earth.

NASA has released video showing the awe-inspiring moment the sun emitted a powerful solar flare on Wednesday.

In the video, a whirlpool of gold can be seen sending out fierce bursts of thick flames that lick the deep-red background of the Sun.

The flare was classified as an X1.6 class flare – the most intense category of solar flare.

Despite its intensity, the harmful radiation from the flare can't penetrate the Earth's atmosphere to the surface, but it can disturb the atmospheric layer where GPS and communication signals travel.