Scientists have revealed pictures of a 100,000 kilometer-high ‘plasma waterfall’ rising from the surface of the sun.
The flare — scientifically termed a polar crown prominence — was snapped by Argentina-based astronomer Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau.
It rose around 100,000 kilometers (60,000 miles) above the sun’s surface — or high enough to engulf the Earth eight time over — before being pulled back down by star’s magnetic reach.
Mr Poupeau said: ‘On my computer screen it looked like hundreds of threads of plasma were dripping down a wall. It really was a spectacle that left me speechless.’
Experts warn that if the plasma is blasted away from the sun and hits Earth it could end up knocking out the planet’s electricity grid.
