What is the difference between solar flares and solar prominences?
A solar flare thrusts solar magnetic energy into space. Looking at the two, what is the difference between a flare and a prominence? A prominence is anchored to the sun; the arch does not separate and go into space. A solar flare, though, will travel through space, since it is a release of energy.
What is the difference between a solar flare and solar wind?
Solar winds are a stream of plasma particles that are ejected from the Sun's atmosphere. They are caused by the Sun's magnetic field, and they can cause auroras and geomagnetic storms. Solar flares are an intense burst of radiation that is caused by the release of magnetic energy from sunspots.
What are sunspots and solar flares and how they each affect the Earth?
If sunspots are active, more solar flares will result creating an increase in geomagnetic storm activity for Earth. Therefore during sunspot maximums, the Earth will see an increase in the Northern and Southern Lights and a possible disruption in radio transmissions and power grids.
What do sunspots and solar flares have in common?
What do sunspots, solar prominences, and solar flares all have in common? They all have about the same temperature. They are all strongly influenced by magnetic fields on the Sun. They are all shaped by the solar wind.
What is the cause of sunspots?
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) lights from the sun's rays or tanning beds accelerates the production of melanin, a pigment responsible for your skin color. After years of exposure, melanin may clump together or be produced in higher concentrations, causing sunspots.
How are sunspots and solar prominences related?
Sunspots occur in pairs because each is one side of a loop of the Sun's magnetic field that reaches the Sun's surface. These spots are cooler and darker than the rest of the Sun's surface and they are marked by intense magnetic activity. Solar prominences are the plasma loops that connect two sunspots.
What are sunspots and how often do they occur?
They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sunspots appear within active regions, usually in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity. Their number varies according to the approximately 11-year solar cycle.
What happens in a solar flare?
Solar flares are thought to occur when stored magnetic energy in the Sun's atmosphere accelerates charged particles in the surrounding plasma. This results in the emission of electromagnetic radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum.
What are sunspots?
Sunspots are dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the "surface" of the Sun. Sunspots are "dark" because they are cooler than their surroundings.
What are solar flares made of?
A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots.
Do solar flares originate in sunspots?
Solar flares tend to originate from regions of the solar surface that contain sunspots — darker, cooler portions of the solar surface where magnetic fields are particularly strong. As such, the number of sunspots can indicate the likelihood of a solar flare eruption.
What causes a sunspot?
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) lights from the sun's rays or tanning beds accelerates the production of melanin, a pigment responsible for your skin color. After years of exposure, melanin may clump together or be produced in higher concentrations, causing sunspots.
Whats the definition of sunspots?
Definition of sunspot : any of the dark spots that appear at times on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope.
What’s the definition of a sunspot?
Definition of sunspot : any of the dark spots that appear at times on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope.
What solar flare means?
Credit: ESA & NASA/SOHO. A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system's largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours.
What does solar flares mean in science?
A solar flare is a tremendous explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in 'twisted' magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released.
What is meant by solar flares?
A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system's largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours.
Do sunspots cause solar flares?
The powerful magnetic fields in the vicinity of sunspots produce active regions on the Sun, which in turn frequently spawn disturbances such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
How do solar flares form?
A flare appears as a sudden, intense brightening of a region on the Sun, typically lasting several minutes. Flares occur when intense magnetic fields on the Sun become too tangled. Like a rubber band that snaps when it is twisted too far, the tangled magnetic fields release energy when they "snap".