A solar flare of cosmic scale (pictures)

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory records a glowing light bulb-like billowing tower of plasma on Sunday that was more than 100,000 miles across.

On Sunday, a sunspot labeled AR1593 unleashed an impressive eruption on the surface of the sun that highlights the massive scale of the universe. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a glowing light bulb-like billowing tower of plasma that was more than 100,000 miles across. To put the size of this eruption in perspective, the circumference of the Earth at the equator is 25,000 miles, and if you dug a tunnel at the equator that went straight down through the center of the Earth, the tunnel would be just around 8,000 miles long.

On Sunday at around 2:30 a.m. UT (that's about 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday), an active region to the left side of the sun produced this beautiful light bulb-shaped plasma display.

The light bulb-shaped plasma display can be seen on the left side of the sun in this image taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on Sunday.

Another view of the left side of the sun.

Another look at the light bulb display on the sun.

The massive solar flare and light-bulb shaped billow of plasma.