This ISS Experiment Looks Like A Miniature Star Factory

We didn't think the zero-gravity fire experiments aboard the International Space Station could get any more stunning. We were wrong.

Flame Extinguishment-2 (FLEX-2) is the second iteration of an experiment designed to test how burning droplets of fuel behave in space.

http://io9.com/this-is-what-happens-when-you-play-with-fire-in-space-514274963

 But unlike other fire experiments aboard the ISS, FLEX-2 requires the flaming droplets to be suspended, free of other objects (like, say, a candle wick) to better study the rate at which fuel mixtures evaporate and burn, and the conditions required for soot to form. According to NASA, "understanding these processes could lead to the production of a safer spacecraft as well as increased fuel efficiency for engines using liquid fuel on Earth."

Featured below is the full clip of the experiment. Look at how slowly and asymmetrically the flame extinguishes, flitting away at the end like some sort of space-jelly. According to FLEX-2 Co-investigator Vedha Nayagham, changing the mixture of gasses in the space around the burning fuel droplet can dramatically affect this extinguishing process:

http://space.io9.com/spheres-of-flame-are-one-of-the-surreal-wonders-of-livi-1607600424/1607720208/+rtgonzalez