[Enlarge.]

Ready for some existential nausea? Today magical astronomer wizards spotted an insane solar prominence. The whacky space ejaculate rippled out into space. Like, really rippled out there. The solar loop of plasma is half a million miles long.

These features are known as prominences, and they form in the sun’s photosphere. Cooler plasma pushes out into the hotter, ionized gases of the Sun’s corona, creating massive loops that take about a day to form but can sometimes persist for months. This particular prominence, one of the biggest we’ve ever seen, isn’t expected to last much longer than a few hours, after which it should harmlessly break up.

But right about now, there’s a loop of plasma running around the Sun that could encircle the Earth twenty times over.

That’s god damn impressive. That rippling prominence can encircle the Earth twenty times. And as always, remember how god damn small the Sun is, compared to other suns. Oh the cosmos, I fucking adore you.

Via.