When the sun launched a moderate, or M-class, solar flare May 17, 2012, it was still one of the largest eruptions seen since late January when our star began to rouse from an anomalously long quiet period.

A NASA satellite has captured images of a solar tornado that is said to be five times as wide as Earth and one of the largest such structures ever discovered on our sun.

Massive solar flares could bring down the national electrical grid and affect power in the U.S. “for a period of years,” according to a 2009 NASA report.

Two recent Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) -- massive bursts of solar wind produced by the Sun -- appear to have caused little or no damage to electrical systems, according to scientists.

NASA said on Wednesday that two Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are now traveling faster than 1,300 miles per second, on track towards Earth.