Solar flare In astronomy

Solar flare In astronomy, sudden release of energy, from a localized region of the Sun, in the form of electromagnetic radiation and, usually, also of energetic particles.

The spectral range of the radiation can be extended by the waves metrics to γ rays. The total energy emitted varies from ~ 1022 to ~ J 3 • 1025 J. The duration of the phenomenon goes from ~ 1 h at ~ 1 day. The first observation of a solar flare was carried out in 1859 by R.C. Carrington white light. Flares occur in active regions of the Sun, especially in the border areas between opposite magnetic polarity spots; their frequency varies during the solar cycle, similarly to the number of spots.

The study of flares is also important for geophysics, because the electromagnetic and corpuscular radiation, emitted by the Sun in the course of these events, they perturbation terrestrial environment (geomagnetic storms, auroras, interference to radio communications etc.). The resulting shock waves traveling laterally through the photosphere and upward through the chromosphere and the crown, at speeds of the order of 5,000,000 kilometers per hour. The energetic particles emitted by these solar phenomena are the first responsible for the Northern Lights and the Southern Hemisphere.

The risk posed by the radiation emitted by them is one of the biggest problems for human Mars missions currently under discussion. It will take some kind of physical or magnetic shield.

The shuttle was originally called Hinode Solar B, it was sent in September 2006 by the Japanese Space Agency in order to observe and study in greater detail the sun eruptions. The mission was mainly concentrated on the observation of the powerful solar magnetic fields, identified according to the most accepted theory as the source of the phenomenon. A Superflare instead is a violent eruption of matter that explodes from the photosphere of a star, with an energy equivalent to a million times or more that feature the common solar flares. It has been suggested that such explosions are produced by the interaction of the stellar magnetic field with that of a Jovian planet in close orbit.