Watch a Solar Flare Erupting in Unprecedented Detail

Two years ago today, NASA launched IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph), a solar observatory decked out with a high-resolution ultraviolet telescope. During its short time in space, IRIS has provided an unprecedented glimpse of the Sun's tempestuous surface, and gleaned new insights into mechanisms behind the solar wind and coronal eruptions--explosions of stellar material that can extend million of miles into space. To celebrate IRIS's birthday, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center releas...