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This fiery solar flare, which has the energy of a billion hydrogen bombs, is what has been causing the stunning aurora displays over Britain and Scandinavia this month.
Newspapers and social media feeds have been filled with photos of the beautiful green and purple swirls of the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, and now a video has emerged of the phenomena that caused them.
The impressive red and orange spectacle is the largest solar flare for more than 12 years, and the eighth largest since modern records began in 1996, and it erupted from the sun this week.
The large solar bursts can drive plasma away from the solar surface at speeds of up to 2,000 km/s.
A team from the University of Sheffield and Queen's University Belfast captured images of the flare using Swedish Solar Telescope situated in La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands.