See it: Sun creates stunning 'solar fireworks show'
A strong X1.3 solar flare produced a striking red, white and blue display in imagery from the Solar Dynamics Observatory over the holiday weekend.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shared video of the most powerful solar flare captured since 2017 on Oct. 3. This activity from the sun could result in large geomagnetic storms, producing auroras.
A “solar fireworks show” lit up the solar system just in time for the United States' 250th birthday.
The sun emitted a strong solar flare on Saturday, which peaked at around 4:41 p.m. ET, NASA said. The festive red, white and blue image was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a spacecraft launched in 2010 that constantly monitors the sun, including its atmosphere, interior, magnetic field and energy output.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash on the left — on July 4, 2026. The image shown here is from a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light and is colorized in red, white and blue, to highlight the extremely hot material in flares. (Image credit: NASA/SDO)
The patriotic colors in the image are from a wavelength of “extreme ultraviolet light” colored to highlight the extremely hot material in flares, the agency explained.
NASA categorized this solar flare as X1.3. X are the strongest class of solar flare.
“X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength,” NASA said.
Solar flares are “powerful bursts of energy” that have the potential to impact power grids, radio communications and navigation signals, NASA explained. While radiation from a flare cannot pass through the Earth’s atmosphere to affect humans on the ground, solar eruptions and flares pose risks to astronauts and spacecraft.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash in the upper right — on June 30, 2026. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in teal. (Image credit: NASA/SDO)
On Tuesday, June 30, the sun emitted a solar flare before its “fireworks show,” NASA said in a social media post on X. This strong solar flare, also captured by NASA’s SDO, was classified as X1.1, and it peaked at 4:50 p.m. ET.
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