NASA video captures exploding solar arc

Summer temps just flared up — for the sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured these images earlier this month of an arching eruption on the star's surface.

The SDO orbits the Earth to capture satellite imagery and takes measurements of the sun and its surface. The eruption (on June 18) expanded into a coronal mass ejection (CME), which releases parts of the sun's corona of magnetic field and plasma, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Solar flares — not shown in this video — are bursts of light that send energy into space. Scientists on Earth can see these in a matter of minutes, according to NASA. But a CME actually throws magnetized particles in a cloud out to space. This can take days to reach Earth.

CMEs also can react with the elements in Earth's atmosphere to create auroras, also known as the Northern or Southern Lights, according to NASA.

Radio and GPS signals can experience glitches if flares or CMEs reach our atmosphere, but NOAA scientists monitor all activity to predict problems.

This video shows the CME during a span of about four hours.