The extreme ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from solar flares is absorbed by the daylight side of Earth's upper atmosphere, in particular the ionosphere, and does not reach the surface. This absorption can temporarily increase the ionization of the ionosphere which may interfere with short-wave radio communication. The prediction of solar flares is an active area of research.
Flares also occur on other stars, where the term stellar flare applies.
Flares occur in active regions, often around sunspots, where intense magnetic fields penetrate the photosphere to link the corona to the solar interior. Flares are powered by the sudden (timescales of minutes to tens of minutes) release of magnetic energy stored in the corona. The same energy releases may also produce coronal mass ejections (CMEs), although the relationship between CMEs and flares is not well understood.[5]
Associated with solar flares are flare sprays.[6] They involve faster ejections of material than eruptive prominences,[7] and reach velocities of 20 to 2000 kilometers per second.[8]
Cause
Flares occur when accelerated charged particles, mainly electrons, interact with the plasma medium. Evidence suggests that the phenomenon of magnetic reconnection leads to this extreme acceleration of charged particles.[9] On the Sun, magnetic reconnection may happen on solar arcades – a type of prominence consisting of a series of closely occurring loops following magnetic lines of force.[10] These lines of force quickly reconnect into a lower arcade of loops leaving a helix of magnetic field unconnected to the rest of the arcade. The sudden release of energy in this reconnection is the origin of the particle acceleration. The unconnected magnetic helical field and the material that it contains may violently expand outwards forming a coronal mass ejection.[11] This also explains why solar flares typically erupt from active regions on the Sun where magnetic fields are much stronger.
Although there is a general agreement on the source of a flare's energy, the mechanisms involved are not well understood. It is not clear how the magnetic energy is transformed into the kinetic energy of the particles, nor is it known how some particles can be accelerated to the GeV range (109electron volt) and beyond. There are also some inconsistencies regarding the total number of accelerated particles, which sometimes seems to be greater than the total number in the coronal loop.[12]
After the eruption of a solar flare, post-eruption loops made of hot plasma begin to form across the neutral line separating regions of opposite magnetic polarity near the flare's source. These loops extend from the photosphere up into the corona and form along the neutral line at increasingly greater distances from the source as time progresses.[14] The existence of these hot loops is thought to be continued by prolonged heating present after the eruption and during the flare's decay stage.[15]
In sufficiently powerful flares, typically of C-class or higher, the loops may combine to form an elongated arch-like structure known as a post-eruption arcade. These structures may last anywhere from multiple hours to multiple days after the initial flare.[14] In some cases, dark sunward-traveling plasma voids known as supra-arcade downflows may form above these arcades.[16]
Frequency
The frequency of occurrence of solar flares varies with the 11-year solar cycle. It can typically range from several per day during solar maxima to less than one every week during solar minima. Additionally, more powerful flares are less frequent than weaker ones. For example, X10-class (severe) flares occur on average about eight times per cycle, whereas M1-class (minor) flares occur on average about 2000 times per cycle.[17]
The frequency distributions of various flare phenomena can be characterized by power-law distributions. For example, the peak fluxes of radio, extreme ultraviolet, and hard and soft X-ray emissions; total energies; and flare durations (see § Duration) have been found to follow power-law distributions.[19][20][21][22]: 23–28
The strength of an event within a class is noted by a numerical suffix ranging from 1 up to, but excluding, 10, which is also the factor for that event within the class. Hence, an X2 flare is twice the strength of an X1 flare, an X3 flare is three times as powerful as an X1. M-class flares are a tenth the size of X-class flares with the same numeric suffix.[23] An X2 is four times more powerful than an M5 flare.[24] X-class flares with a peak flux that exceeds 10−3 W/m2 may be noted with a numerical suffix equal to or greater than 10.
This system was originally devised in 1970 and included only the letters C, M, and X. These letters were chosen to avoid confusion with other optical classification systems. The A and B classes were added in the 1990s as instruments became more sensitive to weaker flares. Around the same time, the backronymmoderate for M-class flares and extreme for X-class flares began to be used.[25]
Importance
An earlier classification system, sometimes referred to as the flare importance, was based on H-alpha spectral observations. The scheme uses both the intensity and emitting surface. The classification in intensity is qualitative, referring to the flares as: faint (f), normal (n), or brilliant (b). The emitting surface is measured in terms of millionths of the hemisphere and is described below. (The total hemisphere area AH = 15.5 × 1012 km2.)
Classification
Corrected area (millionths of hemisphere)
S
< 100
1
100–250
2
250–600
3
600–1200
4
> 1200
A flare is then classified taking S or a number that represents its size and a letter that represents its peak intensity, v.g.: Sn is a normal sunflare.[26]
Duration
A common measure of flare duration is the full width at half maximum (FWHM) time of flux in the soft X-ray bands 0.05 to 0.4 and 0.1 to 0.8 nm measured by GOES. The FWHM time spans from when a flare's flux first reaches halfway between its maximum flux and the background flux and when it again reaches this value as the flare decays. Using this measure, the duration of a flare ranges from approximately tens of seconds to several hours with a median duration of approximately 6 and 11 minutes in the 0.05 to 0.4 and 0.1 to 0.8 nm bands, respectively.[27][28]
Flares can also be classified based on their duration as either impulsive or long duration events (LDE). The time threshold separating the two is not well defined. The SWPC regards events requiring 30 minutes or more to decay to half maximum as LDEs, whereas Belgium's Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence regards events with duration greater than 60 minutes as LDEs.[29][30]
Solar flares also affect other objects in the Solar System. Research into these effects has primarily focused on the atmosphere of Mars and, to a lesser extent, that of Venus.[31] The impacts on other planets in the Solar System are little studied in comparison. As of 2024, research on their effects on Mercury have been limited to modeling of the response of ions in the planet's magnetosphere,[32] and their impact on Jupiter and Saturn have only been studied in the context of X-ray radiation back scattering off of the planets' upper atmospheres.[33][34]
Flare-associated XUV photons interact with and ionize neutral constituents of planetary atmospheres via the process of photoionization. The electrons that are freed in this process, referred to as photoelectrons to distinguish them from the ambient ionospheric electrons, are left with kinetic energies equal to the photon energy in excess of the ionization threshold. In the lower ionosphere where flare impacts are greatest and transport phenomena are less important, the newly liberated photoelectrons lose energy primarily via thermalization with the ambient electrons and neutral species and via secondary ionization due to collisions with the latter, or so-called photoelectron impact ionization. In the process of thermalization, photoelectrons transfer energy to neutral species, resulting in heating and expansion of the neutral atmosphere.[38] The greatest increases in ionization occur in the lower ionosphere where wavelengths with the greatest relative increase in irradiance—the highly penetrative X-ray wavelengths—are absorbed, corresponding to Earth's E and D layers and Mars's M1 layer.[31][35][39][40][41]
The temporary increase in ionization of the daylight side of Earth's atmosphere, in particular the D layer of the ionosphere, can interfere with short-wave radio communications that rely on its level of ionization for skywave propagation. Skywave, or skip, refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted off of the ionized ionosphere. When ionization is higher than normal, radio waves get degraded or completely absorbed by losing energy from the more frequent collisions with free electrons.[1][35]
The level of ionization of the atmosphere correlates with the strength of the associated solar flare in soft X-ray radiation. The Space Weather Prediction Center, a part of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, classifies radio blackouts by the peak soft X-ray intensity of the associated flare.
During non-flaring or solar quiet conditions, electric currents flow through the ionosphere's dayside E layer inducing small-amplitude diurnal variations in the geomagnetic field. These ionospheric currents can be strengthened during large solar flares due to increases in electrical conductivity associated with enhanced ionization of the E and D layers. The subsequent increase in the induced geomagnetic field variation is referred to as a solar flare effect (sfe) or historically as a magnetic crochet. The latter term derives from the french word crochet meaning hook reflecting the hook-like disturbances in magnetic field strength observed by ground-based magnetometers. These disturbances are on the order of a few nanoteslas and last for a few minutes, which is relatively minor compared to those induced during geomagnetic storms.[42][43]
Health
Low Earth orbit
For astronauts in low Earth orbit, an expected radiation dose from the electromagnetic radiation emitted during a solar flare is about 0.05 gray, which is not immediately lethal on its own. Of much more concern for astronauts is the particle radiation associated with solar particle events.[44][better source needed]
Mars
The impacts of solar flare radiation on Mars are relevant to exploration and the search for life on the planet. Models of its atmosphere indicate that the most energetic solar flares previously recorded may have provided acute doses of radiation that would have been almost harmful or lethal to mammals and other higher organisms on Mars's surface. Furthermore, flares energetic enough to provide lethal doses, while not yet observed on the Sun, are thought to occur and have been observed on other Sun-like stars.[45][46][47]
Flares produce radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, although with different intensity. They are not very intense in visible light, but they can be very bright at particular spectral lines. They normally produce bremsstrahlung in X-rays and synchrotron radiation in radio.[48]
Optical observations
Solar flares were first observed by Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson independently on 1 September 1859 by projecting the image of the solar disk produced by an optical telescope through a broad-band filter.[50][51] It was an extraordinarily intense white light flare, a flare emitting a high amount of light in the visual spectrum.[50]
Since flares produce copious amounts of radiation at H-alpha,[52] adding a narrow (≈1 Å) passband filter centered at this wavelength to the optical telescope allows the observation of not very bright flares with small telescopes. For years Hα was the main, if not the only, source of information about solar flares. Other passband filters are also used.[citation needed]
During World War II, on February 25 and 26, 1942, British radar operators observed radiation that Stanley Hey interpreted as solar emission. Their discovery did not go public until the end of the conflict. The same year, Southworth also observed the Sun in radio, but as with Hey, his observations were only known after 1945. In 1943, Grote Reber was the first to report radioastronomical observations of the Sun at 160 MHz. The fast development of radioastronomy revealed new peculiarities of the solar activity like storms and bursts related to the flares. Today, ground-based radiotelescopes observe the Sun from c. 15 MHz up to 400 GHz.
Because the Earth's atmosphere absorbs much of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun with wavelengths shorter than 300 nm, space-based telescopes allowed for the observation of solar flares in previously unobserved high-energy spectral lines. Since the 1970s, the GOES series of satellites have been continuously observing the Sun in soft X-rays, and their observations have become the standard measure of flares, diminishing the importance of the H-alpha classification. Additionally, space-based telescopes allow for the observation of extremely long wavelengths—as long as a few kilometres—which cannot propagate through the ionosphere.
The most powerful flare ever observed is thought to be the flare associated with the 1859 Carrington Event.[54] While no soft X-ray measurements were made at the time, the magnetic crochet associated with the flare was recorded by ground-based magnetometers allowing the flare's strength to be estimated after the event. Using these magnetometer readings, its soft X-ray class has been estimated to be greater than X10[55] and around X45 (±5).[56][57]
In modern times, the largest solar flare measured with instruments occurred on 4 November 2003. This event saturated the GOES detectors, and because of this, its classification is only approximate. Initially, extrapolating the GOES curve, it was estimated to be X28.[58] Later analysis of the ionospheric effects suggested increasing this estimate to X45.[59][60] This event produced the first clear evidence of a new spectral component above 100 GHz.[61]
Prediction
Current methods of flare prediction are problematic, and there is no certain indication that an active region on the Sun will produce a flare. However, many properties of active regions and their sunspots correlate with flaring. For example, magnetically complex regions (based on line-of-sight magnetic field) referred to as delta spots frequently produce the largest flares. A simple scheme of sunspot classification based on the McIntosh system for sunspot groups, or related to a region's fractal complexity[62] is commonly used as a starting point for flare prediction.[63] Predictions are usually stated in terms of probabilities for occurrence of flares above M- or X-class within 24 or 48 hours. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issues forecasts of this kind.[64] MAG4 was developed at the University of Alabama in Huntsville with support from the Space Radiation Analysis Group at Johnson Space Flight Center (NASA/SRAG) for forecasting M- and X-class flares, CMEs, fast CME, and solar energetic particle events.[65] A physics-based method that can predict imminent large solar flares was proposed by Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University.[66]
^Rieger, E.; Share, G. H.; Forrest, D. J.; Kanbach, G.; Reppin, C.; Chupp, E. L. (1984). "A 154-day periodicity in the occurrence of hard solar flares?". Nature. 312 (5995): 623–625. Bibcode:1984Natur.312..623R. doi:10.1038/312623a0. S2CID4348672.
^Kurochka, L. N. (April 1987). "Energy distribution of 15,000 solar flares". Astronomicheskii Zhurnal. 64: 443. Bibcode:1987AZh....64..443K.
^Crosby, Norma B.; Aschwanden, Markus J.; Dennis, Brian R. (February 1993). "Frequency distributions and correlations of solar X-ray flare parameters". Solar Physics. 143 (2): 275–299. Bibcode:1993SoPh..143..275C. doi:10.1007/BF00646488.
^Jain, Rajmal; Awasthi, Arun K.; Tripathi, Sharad C.; Bhatt, Nipa J.; Khan, Parvaiz A. (August 2012). "Influence of solar flare X-rays on the habitability on the Mars". Icarus. 220 (2): 889–895. Bibcode:2012Icar..220..889J. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.06.011.
^Thirupathaiah, P.; Shah, Siddhi Y.; Haider, S.A. (September 2019). "Characteristics of solar X-ray flares and their effects on the ionosphere and human exploration to Mars: MGS radio science observations". Icarus. 330: 60–74. Bibcode:2018cosp...42E1350H. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.04.015.
^Bell, Trudy E.; Phillips, Tony (6 May 2008). "A Super Solar Flare". Science News. NASA Science. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
Novel BaswedanNovel tahun 2018, setelah serangan air keras Informasi pribadiLahir20 Juni 1977 (umur 46)Semarang, Jawa TengahKerabatAnies Baswedan (sepupu)Alma materAkademi Kepolisian (1998)Karier militerPihak IndonesiaDinas/cabang Kepolisian Negara Republik IndonesiaMasa dinas1998 – 2014Pangkat Komisaris PolisiSatuanReserseSunting kotak info • L • B Kompol (Purn.) Novel Baswedan, S.H. (lahir 20 Juni 1977) adalah mantan polisi yang pernah menjadi penyidik Komisi ...
الريف عكس الحضر، وهي المناطق الزراعية الحرة والمعروفة بالشبه المعزولة مجاليا.[1][2][3] الريف اليمني ويمتاز الريف بالمناظر الطبيعية والزراعية فالريف يختلف كثيرا عن المدن من ناحية الحجم وتجانسهم والحراك الاجتماعى والناحية التعليمية ويعتبر الريف في البلدان المتخ...
Major League Baseball team season 1915 New York GiantsLeagueNational LeagueBallparkPolo GroundsCityNew York CityOwnersHarry HempsteadManagersJohn McGraw ← 1914 Seasons 1916 → John Purroy Mitchel at the Giants opening game at the Polo Grounds on April 14, 1915, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch John Purroy Mitchel at the Giants opening game at the Polo Grounds on April 14, 1915, where he is shaking hands with Christy Mathewson The 1915 New York Giants season w...
Un tuffo di Orlando Duque Red Bull Cliff Diving Hamburg 2009 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2011 a La Rochelle, Francia Tuffatore che si lancia dalla piattaforma a 27,5 m a Bilbao La Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series è una competizione internazionale di tuffi nata nel 2009 (come Red Bull Cliff Diving Series) e organizzata da Red Bull. Dal 2014 gareggiano anche le donne. I tuffatori si lanciano da una piattaforma situata tra 26 e 28 metri. Le gare si tengono in una decina di location div...
Local committees of Patriots that became a shadow government during the American Revolution A July 4, 1776, notice sent by the Second Continental Congress to a Committee of Safety organized in Lancaster in the Province of Pennsylvania In the American Revolution, committees of correspondence, committees of inspection, also known as committees of observation and committees of safety, were different local committees of Patriots that became a shadow government; they took control of the Thirteen C...
Season of television series The FaceSeason 1Promotional posterNo. of episodes8ReleaseOriginal networkOxygenOriginal releaseFebruary 12 (2013-02-12) –March 26, 2013 (2013-03-26)Season chronologyNext →Season 2List of episodes The first season of The Face premiered online on February 1, 2013 and on television on February 12, 2013 on Oxygen.[1][2][3] The premiere season followed three supermodel coaches as they competed with each other to find 'the...
City council; lawmaking body of the City of Columbus, Ohio Columbus City CouncilTypeTypeUnicameral LeadershipPresidentShannon Hardin, Democratic since January 2018[1] President pro temRob Dorans, Democratic since January 2023 StructureSeats7ElectionsVoting systemAt-largeLast electionNovember 7, 2023Next electionNovember 11, 2025Meeting placeCity Hall, Columbus, OhioWebsitecolumbus.gov/council The Columbus City Council is the lawmaking body of Columbus, Ohio. It has 7 members w...
1943 British filmThe Silent VillageScreenshot from the filmDirected byHumphrey JenningsProduced byDavid VaughanCinematographyH.E. FowleEdited byStewart McAllisterMusic byBecket WilliamsDistributed byCrown Film UnitRelease date 1943 (1943) Running time36 min.CountryUnited KingdomLanguagesEnglish, Welsh The Silent Village is a 1943 British propaganda short film in the form of a drama documentary, made by the Crown Film Unit and directed by Humphrey Jennings. The film was named one of the ...
مايكروسوفت ووردالشعارمعلومات عامةنوع معالج نصوص[1] نظام التشغيل مايكروسوفت ويندوزأنظمة تشغيل ماكينتوشماك أو إس المنصة أندرويد المطورون مايكروسوفت موقع الويب products.office.com… معلومات تقنيةلغة البرمجة سي++[3] الإصدار الأول أكتوبر 1983 الإصدار الأخير آي أو إس: 2.72 (10 أبريل 2...
تتضمّن هذه القائمة تشكيلات فرق كأس العالم للأندية 2022. يُلزم كل فريق بتسمية مجموعة من 23 لاعبًا (ثلاثة منهم على الأقل يجب أن يكونوا حراس مرمى). يسمح لكل فريق استبدال أي لاعب بآخر قبل 24 ساعة من مبارته الأولى.[1] الأهلي المدير الفني: مارسيل كولر ملاحظة: تشير الأعلام إلى المنتخ�...
Pour les articles homonymes, voir Pernot. François Alexandre PernotBiographieNaissance 10 février 1793WassyDécès 3 novembre 1865 (à 72 ans)WassyNationalité françaiseActivités Peintre, sculpteur, aquarelliste, dessinateur, lithographeAutres informationsMaîtres Jean-Victor Bertin, Louis HersentDistinction Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (1846)modifier - modifier le code - modifier Wikidata Incendie de la cathédrale de Chartres, le 4 février 1836 (1837), musée des Beaux-Ar...
طقسمعلومات عامةصنف فرعي من ظاهرة جويةحالة جزء من دوران الغلاف الجوي السبب المباشر لـ مأوى يدرسه علم الطقس تعديل - تعديل مصدري - تعديل ويكي بيانات عاصفة رعدية تخيم على إحدى الأماكن الشَفَق القطبي الشمالي انتشار الغيوم في فصل الشتاء لبعض المناطق بشبه الجزيرة العربية. الطقس أ...
Methods of visualizing information by translating to colors For operations under false military colors, see False flag. A mosaic constructed from a series of 53 images taken through three spectral filters by Galileo's imaging system as it flew over the northern regions of the Moon in December 1992. A false-color image from the Meteor M2-2 satellite's imager MSU-MR. The image was received by an amateur radio station and is derived from the HRPT data. False colors and pseudo colors respecti...
Cet article est une ébauche concernant le Maine. Vous pouvez partager vos connaissances en l’améliorant (comment ?) selon les recommandations des projets correspondants. Comté d'Androscoggin(Androscoggin County) Église Holy Cross, Lewiston Administration Pays États-Unis État Maine Chef-lieu Auburn Fondation 1854 Démographie Population 107 702 hab. (2010) Densité 88 hab./km2 Géographie Coordonnées 44° 17′ 51″ nord, 70° 05′ 14″...
AsaAsa mentre si esibisce dal vivo, 17 luglio 2015 Nazionalità Finlandia GenereHip hop Periodo di attività musicale2001 – in attività EtichettaFried, Roihis GruppiJätkäjätkät Album pubblicati8 Studio8 Modifica dati su Wikidata · Manuale Asa (precedentemente noto come Avain e Asa Masa), pseudonimo di Matti Salo (Helsinki, 1980), è un rapper finlandese. Indice 1 Biografia 2 Discografia 2.1 Da solista 2.2 Jätkäjätkät 3 Note 4 Altri progetti 5 Collegame...
Years in webcomics: 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Centuries: 20th century · 21st century · 22nd century Decades: 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s Years: 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 This article presents a list of notable events of 2016 in webcomics. Events On April 13, 2016, Andrew Hussie finished his celebrated webcomic Homestuck after 7 years with ove...
County in Georgia, United States Not to be confused with Crawford, Georgia. County in GeorgiaCrawford CountyCountyCrawford County Courthouse in KnoxvilleLocation within the U.S. state of GeorgiaGeorgia's location within the U.S.Coordinates: 32°43′N 83°59′W / 32.71°N 83.98°W / 32.71; -83.98Country United StatesState GeorgiaFounded1822; 202 years ago (1822)Named forWilliam H. CrawfordSeatKnoxvilleLargest cityRobertaArea • T...