What are solar flares and solar prominence?« Back to Questions List

Solar flame and solar prominence are sudden disturbances that happen over the surface of the sun. When observed from the earth through naked eyes, the sun looks like a calm planet. But just like earthquakes and cyclones, sudden disruptions occur on the sun too. A solar flare is a sudden flash of brightness observed over the surface of the sun where as a solar prominence is massive eruption of flame.  

A solar flare releases a lot of radiation into space. The time taken by such electromagnetic radiation to reach the earth is eight minutes. Solar flares release highly energetic protons, electrons and ions. The effect of these particles and radiation in space are very harmful. The sudden disruptions that travel to the atmosphere of the earth cause danger to airline pilots. If they hit the electric systems of the aircraft, it can lead to accidents.  But the magnetic field and atmosphere of the earth provides a natural protection to the airline pilots, though the protection is weaker at the poles.  An intense solar flare can impact radio and TV signals too. 

Similar phenomena that occur on other stars are known as stellar flares. 

Massive eruption of flares, known as solar prominence is often enormous extending over thousands of kilometers. Such eruptions send out millions of tonnes of solar material. These material travels through space at lightning speed. Solar prominence can be devastating if their flames reach up to the earth. 

Solar prominences rise up to the sun’s surface in the photosphere and extend outwards into the corona, the hot outer layer of the sun. The duration of solar prominences may vary from one day to several months. Some prominences erupt and break apart, giving rise to a phenomena called coronal mass ejections (CME). Sometimes, prominences can be  observed against the bright background of the sun itself, instead of the edge of its disk. These prominences appear dark compared to the bright background of the sun and are known as solar filaments. 

Has sun got any magnetic field like the earth?

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