Solar flare...

Solar flare...  This image of the recent sunspot AR2192 was made from many images collected at various wavelengths by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (a robotic satellite).  The detail in this image is stunning.  I remember as a kid in the '60s looking at photos from the Kitt Peak solar telescope (in Arizona).  Those would show a sunspot like AR2192 as a fuzzy, indistinct black dot on a mostly featureless background.  Via APOD, of course...