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solar flare

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solar flare

Sudden intense brightening of a small part of the Sun's surface, often near a sunspot group. Flares develop in a few minutes and may last several hours, releasing intense X rays and streams of energetic particles. They appear to be connected with changes in the Sun's magnetic fields during the solar cycle. The ejected particles take a day or two to reach the vicinity of Earth, where they can disrupt radio communications and cause auroras, and may pose a radiation hazard to astronauts.

solar flare [′sō·lər ′fler]
(astrophysics)
An abrupt increase in the intensity of the H-α and other emission near a sunspot region; the brightness may be many times that of the associated plage.
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About 90 percent of all ions produced by a solar flare remain locked to the Sun on closed magnetic lines, but another population results from the decay of the neutrons near the Sun.
NASA's MESSENGER gets closest-ever look at solar-flare neutrons by Asian News International
Spacesuits block some radiation but not enough to protect internal organs during a solar flare.
Solar flare-up by Satre, Hallie / Science World
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The sun has entered its weakest cycle of magnetic activity since 1928, meaning fewer solar flares and coronal mass ejections, scientists predicted in a May 8 teleconference.
Calm expected from the sun by Barazesh, Solmaz / Science News
 
 
 
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