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Solar Flares

Last post 10-04-2006 12:49 PM by Terry Kucera. 1 replies.
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  • 10-04-2006 9:12 AM

    Solar Flares

    Yo

    Im wondreing about solar flares.Does anyone no anything than posted on the website.Id like to know a lot.

    Thankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From a student

  • 10-04-2006 12:49 PM In reply to

    • Terry Kucera
    • Top 10 Contributor
    • Joined on 02-27-2005
    • NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, USA
    • Posts 165

    Re: Solar Flares

    Hi,
    That is a very big request. Solar flares are explosions which occur in magnetic loops just above the Sun's surface. They release lots of light, especially kinds of high energy light we can't see, like X-rays, but also visible light and radio waves.  We think they happen because the sun's magnetic field gets all tangled up and stressed. It snaps into a less stressed form and releases energy. This is the same explanation I give for coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which involve material shooting away from the sun. Flare and CMEs can be associated with each other, but not always.

    There are some pictures of flares taken in ultraviolet light taken by the TRACE spacecraft:
    http://trace.lmsal.com/POD/images/T195_020421_014352.gif
    http://trace.lmsal.com/POD/images/T1600_001124_150901.gif
    http://trace.lmsal.com/POD/images/T171_010419_1330.jpg

    cheers,
    Terry
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