Solar flares are violent mass ejections caused by magnetic field reconnection on the Sun’s surface. They release energy across the electromagnetic spectrum and can disrupt long-range radio communications. Solar flares are related to coronal mass ejections and can be dangerous for astronauts due to the release of energetic particles. Proton storms caused by solar flares can travel at high speeds, increasing the risk for astronauts and presenting a challenge for spacecraft design.
Solar flares are mass ejections from the surface of the Sun caused by the spontaneous reconnection of magnetic field lines. Solar flares are so violent that they would be capable of incinerating entire continents if the Earth were kept close to them. Solar flares pose a danger to astronauts due to the energetic particles they release over long distances.
Like some other energetic astronomical events, solar flares release enormous amounts of energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays with longer wavelengths to gamma rays with shorter wavelengths. Solar flares tend to occur in active regions around sunspots, and their frequency corresponds to the intensity of sunspots at any given time, ranging from once a week to several a day. Solar flares are powerful enough to temporarily disrupt long-range radio communications on Earth. The magnetic reconnection events that power solar flares occur on time scales from minutes to tens of minutes.
Solar flares are related to coronal mass ejections, another type of stellar phenomenon in which large amounts of the sun’s atmosphere are ejected into space at great speeds. In a solar flare, electrons, protons and heavy ions can be accelerated to speeds approaching the speed of light. For an unfortunate astronaut outside the Earth’s atmosphere and lacking sufficient shielding, this could mean instant death. Therefore, scientists are very concerned about studying solar flares so that they can be better predicted.
The first solar flares were observed in 1856 as bright flares on the edges of sunspots. Compared to the size of the Sun itself, solar flares are quite small, but compared to Earth and other planets, they are large. Energetic particles released by solar flares help create the beautiful aurora borealis and aurora australis.
Solar flares cause the release of a large cascade of particles known as a proton storm, which is what can be dangerous for astronauts. A few decades ago, it was believed that proton storms could only travel at about 8% of the speed of light, theoretically giving astronauts two hours to reach shelter in the event of an observed solar flare. But as recently as 2005, a proton storm was observed reaching Earth’s vicinity just 15 minutes after the initial observation, indicating a speed of about one-third the speed of light. This increases the risk of solar flares for astronauts and presents a design challenge for engineers planning long-range spacecraft, such as trips to Mars.
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