Solar Flares / CMEs - 2011-12-29 12:00 to 18:30 - SDO AIA 304Å - HD

Here are a couple of solar flares which occurred on 2011-12-29. The video is 26 seconds long and shows the active regions from approximately 12:00 to 18:30, a time period of 6 and a half hours. It is made from 650 individual images which were gathered by the AIA instrument on the SDO at intervals of about 100 per hour, less than a minute apart. Even though it looks like slow motion, it is actually sped up close to 1000 times.

This view is from the 304Å filter on the AIA instrument aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite. The 304Å filter records thermal characteristics of around 90,000 degrees Fahrenheit, originating mostly in the Sun's upper chromosphere and transition region.