Solar Flares :Its Formation & Effects on Earth

•  A solar flare is a thunderous explosion that occurs in the solar corona and chromosphere within the atmosphere of the Sun. 

  The incredible energy level of a solar flare is equivalent to tens of millions of atomic bombs exploding at the same time!

  Solar flares were first known to be occurring in 1859. 

  Solar flare activity can vary from several per day to only a few a month, depending mostly upon the overall activity of the Sun as a whole. 

  Solar activity generally varies on an 11-year cycle. 

  At the peak of this “solar cycle” there are typically more sunspots on the surface of the Sun, which ultimately leads to more frequently occurring solar flares.

  Solar flares are typically classified as A, B, C, M or X, depending upon the degree of their peak flux. 

  Most solar flares occur in or around sun spots as the result of intense magnetic fields emerging from the Sun’s surface into the corona. 

  The powerful energy commonly associated with solar flares can take as long as several days to build up, but only minutes to release.

  During the occurrence of a solar flare, plasma is heated to tens of millions degrees Kelvin, while electrons, protons and heavier ions are accelerated to near the speed of light. 

  Solar flares produce electromagnetic radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum at all wavelengths from long-wave radio to the shortest wavelength Gamma rays. 

  Solar flares cannot typically be detected by the naked eye from the surface of the earth.