Solar flare, SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) ultraviolet (UV) satellite image showing a solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) erupting from the surface of the Sun on 31st August 2012. The CME traveled at over 900 miles per second. It did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3rd, 2012.