On December 26, 2001, a solar flare blasted from Active Region 9727. It was observed in extreme ultraviolet as an area of strong brightening of magnetic loops in the lower corona that lasted for several hours. This marked the beginning of a high-energy proton event that pelted the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft for almost a day. The active region is easily identified in the first image. Then the protons become visible in the second image as white snowy particles that strike