Pictured: The glittering flare of a solar storm - seven times the size of Earth - which is raging across the sun's surface
The fear that a solar storm may erupt and disrupt the Earth's electrical grids is a legitimate one, but until that day arrives, we can sit back and enjoy the view.
This is an image taken by NASA of the sun erupting on Wednesday, May 9th, with a solar flare appearing almost like a sparkling diamond glittering on the surface of our star.
A flare is caused when the sun's electromagnetic field twists and bends, shooting out a mind-bogglingly hot - around 100,000,000C - burst of energy particles into space.
Luckily, this flare was short-lived, with no 'coronal mass ejections', so NASA is not expecting any geomagnetic storms on Earth.
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Diamonds in the sky: NASA spotted the M4.7-class flare shooting out of the sun - the diameter of the sunspot is more than seven times that of the Earth
Sunspot AR 1476: It can be seen in the upper left of this picture - and could unleash gigantic solar flares
A spokesman for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite, which took the image, said: 'The flare was over quickly and there was no coronal mass ejection associated with it.
'This image is shown in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength that is typically colourised in teal and that provided the most detailed picture of this particular flare.
'A particularly large and complex sunspot appeared over the left limb of the sun on Saturday, May 5, beginning its two-week trek across the face of the star in conjunction with the sun's rotation.
'The sunspot, dubbed Active Region 1476, has so far produced seven M-class flares and numerous C-class flares, including two M-class flares on May 9, 2012.
'These flares were all short-lived and there were no associated coronal mass ejections, so we do not expect any geomagnetic storms at Earth.'
Sunspot AR 1476 has a giant diameter - at 60,000 miles, it is many times that of the Earth, which measures just under 8,000 miles across.
Brilliant photo: A solar flare erupting in 2004 and spitting billions of tons of the Sun's gas into space
The sunspot is so enormous that it’s possible to view with home telescopes – though experts warn that these must be fitted with sun filters to prevent permanent eye damage.
Sunspots often travel in pairs and are darker than the surrounding area because they are slightly cooler, which makes them less luminous.
They are caused by the sun’s magnetic field becoming twisted – and it’s this twisting dynamic that can produce coronal mass ejections.
These contain billions of tons of gases bursting with X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.
The Earth is occasionally hit by these ejections, leading to amazing shimmering light shows.
They are the result of ionised solar particles becoming imprisoned by Earth’s magnetic field, exciting the gases in the atmosphere and emitting bursts of energy in the form of light.
However, these particles can also cause magnetic storms, which in extreme cases have been known to disrupt satellites and electricity grids.
In 1989, a CME was held responsible for leaving six million people in Quebec, Canada, without power.
Solar activity runs in 11-year cycles, with the current one peaking in 2013, so more violent space weather is on the horizon.
Dr Matthew Penn, of the National Solar Observatory in Arizona, said recently: 'Because the sun is becoming more active, it will have an impact on millions of people. Sunspots can cause the biggest and most damaging space storms that occur.
'During the next two years, we are expecting the number of sunspots visible on the sun to reach a maximum. We know that sunspots are the source of a lot of space weather and solar storms, so we expect a larger number of solar storms here at the Earth.’