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IN SPACE - DECEMBER 31: In this handout from NASA, a solar eruption rises above the surface of the sun December 31, 2012 in space. According to NASA the relatively minor eruption extended 160,000 miles out from the Sun and was about 20 times the diameter of Earth. (Photo by NASA/SDO via Getty Images)

IN SPACE - DECEMBER 31: In this handout from NASA, a solar eruption rises above the surface of the sun December 31, 2012 in space. According to NASA the relatively minor eruption extended 160,000 miles out from the Sun and was about 20 times the diameter of Earth. (Photo by NASA/SDO via Getty Images)
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