The Sun's Most Explosive Moments

The sun has been exploding with activity for the last decade. From solar flares to coronal mass ejections (CMEs), NASA and its partners around the world have captured stunning images and video of this heightened period of solar activity.

This year will likely mark the end of the sun's latest active cycle, according to scientists. So we dug through videos and photos to bring you .

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Stunning Northern Lights

Big Lake, Alaska

iWitness Contributor Gerard Billinger says his daughter Jennifer Shriner Billinger took this photo of the Northern Lights from Big Lake, Alaska.

March 6, 2012

(NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory/Getty Images)

The largest solar flare in five years leapt from the sun in early March 2012. Particles from the flare originally threatened communications on Earth.

January 19, 2012

(NASA/SDO)

Two for the price of one: This image captures a solar flare and a CME on the surface of the sun.

October 23, 2012 (VIDEO)

High resolution cameras from NASA capture what scientists categorize as an M-5 solar flare originating on the surface of the sun.

June 7, 2011

(NASA/SDO)

NASA says the massive cloud of particles was the result of a solar flare, CME, and radiation storm all on the same day.

July 2012 (VIDEO)

An eruption on the sun produced a powerful solar flare, and the magnetic display that looks like rain is actually cooling plasma as it falls back to the sun.

July 4, 2012

(NASA/SDO/AIA/Helioviewer)

The Solar Dynamics Observatory captures Independence Day fireworks from the sun. The powerful solar flare lashed out at 5:55 a.m. on July 4, 2012.

December 31, 2012 (VIDEO)

This New Year's Eve eruption rose up 160,000 miles away from the sun's surface. That same length would wrap around the Earth 20 times.

October 25, 2002

(SOHO/ESA/NASA/Getty Images)

Let's put this into perspective: This October 2002 image from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory shows a CME that sprung from the surface of the sun, and compares it to a spec that's about the size of Earth.

May 16, 2012

(ESA & NASA/SOHO)

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captures two shots of a CME traveling at 900 miles per second. The photos show the particles expanding outward as they move away from the sun.

January 28, 2013 (VIDEO)

This video captures the phenomenon of coronal rain in action, as plasma from the sun's surface lashes out and is pulled back down by gravity.