A fleetly fleeing solar flare surprised astrophotographer John Stetson when it erupted off the sun May 25.

“Many prominences this large are quiescent,” Stetson told Wired.com in an email. “This active prom was so dynamic that the changes could be noticed in live time at the eyepiece.”

In the 20 minutes between the first photo above and the second, the burst of hot plasma traveled noticeably down the sun’s limb. Based on a rough estimate of the size of the sun compared to that of the Earth, Stetson calculated that the prominence must have covered 19,884 miles (32,000 kilometers) at a speed of 59,652 miles per hour (96,000 kilometers per hour).

“In seven years of regular solar observing I have only seen a few ejectile prominences,” Stetson said. “And this one was a particularly large and bright.”

Images: John Stetson

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