'Death Star' captured on video as it 'refuels' at the surface of the sun

An orbiting Nasa space telescope captured a dark, planet-sized object flying close to the sun on Monday - and extending what looks like a refueling tube into the star's surface.

The black, Death Star-like, orb is briefly engulfed in light from the sun, then flies off into space.

A video edited from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's photos inspired a wave of speculation on YouTube.

The imagery was captured by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory and edited together by a YouTube user, Sunsflare, who challenged experts to explain the strange 'visitor.'

Naturally, the space agency has a rather more ordinary explanation for the strange, black orb.

It's not a visitor from another solar system - or a planet being born out of the surface of the sun, as others had speculated.

Instead, it's a solar 'prominence' or 'filament' - a feature extending out from the sun which forms over the course of a day, and can extend hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Read More