NASA said it detected a massive, x-class solar flare on Thursday that sent a coronal mass ejection spiraling toward Earth at over 850 miles per second. A full 24-hours later, the agency has made photos and a high definition video of the phenomenal cosmic event available online.

A previous solar flare earlier in the month was not quite this large, but NASA was still quick to note that it happened, as a particularly massive solar flare could potentially cause disruptions with space-based electronics like GPS navigation systems, and Earth-based technology like electric transformers and radio communications. The latest flare was the biggest in a while, although NASA did not say that it posed any threat to Earth.

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Large-scale photos of it, however, are utterly spectacular. (More here.)

This video of the July 12 solar flare was published by NASA on July 13, 2012.