On August 31, 2012, a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME 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 3. (Photo by NASA/GSFC/SDO via The Atlantic)

Children dressed as Santa Clause play with a soccer ball as they celebrate at their school ahead of Christmas in Chennai on December 23, 2021. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)

Inquisitive elephant seal pups venture towards a photographer on South Georgia, an uninhabited island near Antarctica early July 2022. The seals are not used to seeing humans and shuffled closer to Charlotte Rhodes rather than shying away. (Photo by Charlotte Rhodes/Media Drum Images)

The London Cabaret Club on August 26, 2022 getting in the mood for Notting Hill carnival weekend will host to a Brazilian Fantasy Dance Company Festival ,with the colors and music of Carnival. (Photo by Paul Quezada-Neiman/Alamy Live News)

Pope Francis looks at an acrobat of the “Black Blues Brothers” performing during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Medichini/AP Photo)

Cholita wrestlers stage a performance on the street during the Electropreste celebration, which combines traditional and modern customs, in La Paz, Bolivia on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Claudia Morales/Reuters)

Workers inflate and secure giant helium balloons which will be a featured part of tomorrow's 97th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, New York, USA, 22 November 2023. The annual parade will feature 16 giant character helium balloons which will be lead down the street by teams of people. (Photo by Justin Lane/EPA)