solar flare

noun

Astronomy.

1. flare.

solar flare

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: flare. a brief powerful eruption of particles and intense electromagnetic radiation from the sun's surface, associated with sunspots and causing disturbances to radio communication on earth See also solar wind

solar flare

1. A sudden eruption of hydrogen gas in the chromosphere of the Sun, usually associated with sunspots. Solar flares may last between several hours and several days, and have temperatures ranging from 20 to 100 million degrees K. The energy of a solar flare, which consists primarily of charged particles and x-rays, is comparable to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs, but is less than one-tenth the total energy emitted by the Sun every second. First observed in 1859, solar flares dramatically affect the Sun's weather and the solar wind, and are correlated with the appearance of auroras on the Earth.

2. See also prominence

Word History and Origins

Origin of solar flare¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

For example, in 2017 two massive solar flares fired out from the surface of the Sun disrupted devices such as GPS navigation systems on Earth.

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Larger versions of these waves have been seen before, often linked to solar flares.

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For years, researchers couldn't understand how this "rain" formed so rapidly during solar flares.

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During this phase there is an increase in the number of eruptions from the Sun, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

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But solar storms, solar flares and coronal mass ejections routinely impact Earth's weather.

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