Questions tagged [solar-flare]

Questions regarding a sudden brightness increase due to the release of magnetic energy from the sun.

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2 votes
0 answers
37 views

Would the magnetotail protect astronauts caught outside during a solar flare enough for their safety?

If a solar flare occurred during a lunar mission (bearing in mind that in routine one-week lunar missions the astronauts are protected from solar radiation by Earth's magnetotail) would the ...
5 votes
2 answers
173 views

Directionality of solar flares

I have read a number of articles about Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and solar flares and I’m trying to establish how directional the radiation from them is. I am aware that radiation from these solar ...
16 votes
1 answer
516 views

How do large solar flares compare to flares on other stars?

Solar flares are violent releases of solar magnetic energy. Other stars are also known to have magnetic fields, in some cases much stronger than the Sun. How do the largest stellar flares compare to ...
28 votes
1 answer
6k views

Is the dark side of the earth protected from the risks of solar flares?

Many speculate about the possibility of another “Carrington event”. Without getting into unrealistic scenarios, I ask myself the following question: would electronic lines and the equipment connected ...
2 votes
1 answer
153 views

Is life (as we know it) even possible around M-class stars?

My Question is about the fascination in looking for life on M class or Red Dwarf stars. We all know that Most stars (70%) are M Class, so looking at those stars is going to be important. The "...
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to access the raw time-series dataset of GOES X-Ray Flux?

I would like to access the time-series dataset of X-Ray Flux obtained by GOES. I expect that the flux units to be Watts / square-meter; this is because of the figure below (obtained from this Nature ...
1 vote
1 answer
89 views

Where do these materials on the Sun come from, if not nothingness?

In this video, I see that for hours, it seems that the flow keeps going from the 11h direction to the Sun's surface - while there looks like nothing is coming to the top of the loop to provide a ...
0 votes
0 answers
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Visibility of solar flaring region from Jupiter

I numerically calculated the following numbers. The geocentric longitude of the Sun on 25 November 1999 at 00:00 UT was 243.52 degrees (numerically calculated with an error of 1 degree). On this date (...
3 votes
1 answer
91 views

Has the rate of time passage been measured?

We know certain astronomical events in our neighborhood occur within a specific time interval,for example a solar flare, a nova, etc. Does the time interval of these 'standard metronomes' change if ...
6 votes
1 answer
152 views

Do solar flares have a noticeable effect on asteroid orbits?

I've read that in advanced trajectory calculations, sunlight is even taken into account. Does this also apply to transient events like solar flares?
6 votes
1 answer
458 views

Where do Coronal Mass Ejections go?

Due to magnetic fluctuations in the Sun's corona, the Sun produces Coronal Mass ejections (CMEs). Where does the matter from these CMEs go if they don't hit any celestial object? Are they visible from ...
5 votes
2 answers
191 views

Solar flare generate energetic protons. Where do the electrons go?

A solar flare sends many atoms in space (mainly He and H), many of which, when they reach Earth, are ions (He++ and H+). What I recall from my school days, is that an electron goes from one atom to ...
3 votes
1 answer
202 views

Does the magnetosphere of Jupiter protect the Galilean Moons from solar flares?

Teasing out a sci-fi story and would like to get things right science-wise. Sun's about to flare (yes, I know we're not great at predicting that yet but near future) and Earth's doomed. Would the ...
2 votes
0 answers
54 views

What is the differential emission measure (DEM)? what are its physical significant in solar plasma? [closed]

I'm trying to understand what differential emission measure (DEM) is, especially its physical significant in solar plasma. Is it possible to give a short description and perhaps suggest to me some ...
2 votes
1 answer
118 views

Physical properties of the stellar corona?

I am after the basic physical properties of the corona of a star, here some questions for which I would like to have an answer, even only for a subset of them: I know some things about the corona of ...
5 votes
1 answer
75 views

Strength of the relationship between very large solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar proton events?

In the years 774-775 and 993-994, there were large peaks in Earth's atmospheric radiocarbon (14C) concentration. While the cause was initially disputed, Mekhaldi et al.'s 2015 study of annually ...
5 votes
1 answer
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What online tools are available to investigate and classify solar eruptions?

I was just casually browsing when I came across a link about at recent solar flare. So I went to investigate at SpaceWeather. There it was stated: Looking further down the page it seem to say that ...
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

What would be the effect of a large solar flare on motor vehicles?

With the solar cycle now leading to an increase in flare activity, one naturally starts to think the effects of a large solar flare heading this way. While major flares like the Carrington Event are ...
5 votes
1 answer
254 views

What could be the cause of solar "campfires"?

NASA/ESA Solar Orbiter mission just released its first images. They show an ubiquitous feature: miniature flares called "campfires", much smaller than solar flares. (click to enlarge) A ...
2 votes
1 answer
284 views

Is it fair to describe a solar flare as a big lightning strike on the sun?

Solar flares and lightning strikes are both kinds of electric discharges. A lightning strike is a sudden discharge of electrical energy between an electrically charged cloud and another object, like ...
2 votes
0 answers
34 views

Solar flare charge?

Does a solar flare and/or accompanying coronal mass ejection have a net electrical charge? If so, positive or negative? And how much might that charge affect the Earth’s total net electrical ...
14 votes
3 answers
3k views

How can I safely observe a Solar Flare?

Solar Flares obviously release extreme amounts of energy and extend thousands of miles out into space. Because they are so big I would like to be able to observe some of these events through a ...
4 votes
2 answers
171 views

Solar flares/CME dangers to life?

I know a repeat of the 1859 Carrington Event (coronal mass ejection) would pose a severe risk to power grids and telecommunication networks but wouldn't pose an immediate threat to life. If a large ...
2 votes
1 answer
158 views

Detecting anomalies from the sun from home

I was wondering if there are any ways for some amateur to detect let's say solar flares or CMEs from home. What kind of hardware would you need in order to have chance of seeing/measuring those? I ...
1 vote
1 answer
46 views

Any active solar X-ray imager in orbit?

NOAA GOES-14 & 15 went very recently in storage mode. With those also went the solar X-ray imagers (SXI), as GOES-16 & 17 do not have such instruments on board. Hence, my question: Are there ...
2 votes
1 answer
184 views

Does Earth's magnetic field become stronger when a solar flare hits?

This curiosity arises as follows: when ejecta from a strong solar flare hits Earth, will the Earth somehow counter its impact with a stronger magnetic field. Or, earth's magnetic field as limited ...
3 votes
2 answers
182 views

How does a Super-Massive Black Hole 'flare'?

This week we have read of evidence of the Super Massive Black Hole in the centre of the Galaxy 'flaring'. My understanding is that light cannot escape from a black hole. My question is: How does a ...
3 votes
3 answers
97 views

Does coronal mass ejection include radiation at optical wavelengths?

It is known that during Solar/Stellar Flare, plasma from the corona of the star is released into the space, and travels comparatively slowly. In an hypothetical situation, does the coronal mass also ...
1 vote
1 answer
101 views

Is there a plausible causal mechanism to explain why the Sun would be heating up faster/ sooner than we thought? Question for a novel [closed]

I am writing a novel about what it will be like on earth 500 or so years before the death of our Sun. The Sun is heating up gradually and one day that will negatively affect life on Earth. I know that ...
7 votes
1 answer
725 views

Is the mechanism of solar flares on red dwarfs and brown dwarfs the same as that on the Sun?

The Sun has solar flares that are caused when there is a magnetic reconnection in the Sun's atmosphere, causing a loop of magnetic field to be ejected at high energy, along with a large number of ...
1 vote
2 answers
171 views

Can a planet's gravity rip out its moon's atmosphere?

We all know that solar flares can rip a planet's atmosphere if the magnetic field is weak.Solar flares travel at tremendous speed so when they hit the gas molecules of a atmosphere the molecules are ...
3 votes
1 answer
83 views

Is it possible for a solar flare in one star to influence the chances of a solar flare in another star?

Can a solar flare reach far enough to travel from one ordinary star to another? If so, how can that solar flare affect the following star?
2 votes
2 answers
318 views

Can hot Jupiters cause solar flares?

I'm very new at Astronomy, and my knowledge is sparse. I've tried to be conscientious about my Wikipedia research but there's going to be a lot of things I don't know. Thanks for your patience. ...
7 votes
1 answer
282 views

Difference in creation of solar flares and CME?

What is the difference in the creation process of solar flares and CME (coronal mass ejections)? How do they relate to sunspots and coronal holes? Here there are some good explanations about the ...
2 votes
3 answers
739 views

How bad could we reasonably expect a solar flare to impact earth, and what can be done to mitigate the impact?

According to numerous articles, solar flares have done damage to the power grid on Earth in the past: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/06may_carringtonflare/ How bad can we ...
6 votes
1 answer
158 views

What forces expelled these huge clouds, then blocked further progress, yet allowed it to maintain its threads?

From Wikipedia and NASA: Caption: NASA: S74-15583 (July 1973) --- A huge solar eruption can be seen in this Spectroheliogram obtained during the Skylab 3 mission by the Extreme Ultraviolet ...
5 votes
1 answer
118 views

Spectra of electromagnetic radiation emitted during solar flare

During solar flare, electromagnetic energy is released at a wide range of wavelengths but the most dominating are x-rays and extreme ultraviolet rays. Why is that intensity of these wavelengths is ...
17 votes
2 answers
602 views

What is the largest recorded solar flare?

For the purposes of this question I would interpret the word "recorded" as loosely as possible meaning that historic records such as ice cores or tree rings would count. Also what effect did such a ...
21 votes
2 answers
3k views

What are the main differences between solar flares and coronal mass ejections?

Specifically, what causes them, what sort of damage can they cause, and what are the differences in their composition?
10 votes
1 answer
115 views

Any new info about solar flares hitting the Moon added by the LADEE mission?

This article from 2011 mentions simulations about the sputtering effect caused by a solar flare hitting the Moon: "We found that when this massive cloud of plasma strikes the moon, it acts like a ...
2 votes
0 answers
105 views

Illusion of a lunar eclipse [closed]

A little over half a year ago, I think it was mid March 2015, I glanced out of my window at about 4 am, to see what appeared to be a very bright total lunar eclipse, as in, the moon was full and ...
6 votes
2 answers
223 views

What triggers solar flares?

The sun is a big ball of hot plasma which contains free electrons. However, how does the absence of metallic elements in the sun generate the magnetic field to orchestrate these free electrons to ...
9 votes
1 answer
300 views

How likely is it that the Sun will destroy our electric society?

Given the studies of the Sun and similar stars and the most impressive understanding of its physics, is there any kind of probability distribution for its dangerous behavior? There are also some ...
9 votes
2 answers
674 views

Typical wavelength of solar flare

I read that solar flares are customarily viewed in H-alpha light, as a temporary brightening of a small portion of chromosphere. What all can be interpreted from this? Is it because, energy of the ...
5 votes
1 answer
153 views

Conditions on Hot Jupiters

Hot Jupiters are close to their parent star - after all, that's why they're so hot. Their atmospheres are thought to be slowly blown away by the parent star, and they will eventually become chthonian ...
4 votes
2 answers
96 views

Can solar luminosity & activity be predicted?

Can a star's luminosity and its activity, solar flares and sunspots, be predicted? If so, with what accuracy & precision?
5 votes
1 answer
515 views

Would an ultra bright moon indicate that the world is ending?

There is a sci-fi television episode that shows a man looking out the window into the night sky. There up in the sky is the moon, and it's extraordinarily bright. The man spends the rest of the night ...
5 votes
2 answers
153 views

How does solar activity (e.g. flares, coronal mass ejections) change over the life cycle of a Sun-like star?

As a Sun-like star is born from a collapsed nebula and generates energy by nuclear fusion some of that energy is converted to magnetic fields which fuel solar activity. How does that activity evolve ...
8 votes
1 answer
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Are we still in the Solar Maximus stage? Will this winter 2013/14 be a good aurora-viewing season?

I remember reading in 2011 that 2013/2014 would be the peak of the current solar maximus, but I want to confirm whether that is still ongoing. Will the upcoming winter season be a good time to see ...