Steller Super Flare Reminder Research Paper

In 1945, Joseph Henry and Stephen Alexander, professors from Princeton University, discovered that sunspots emitted less radiation than surrounding areas of the sun. This is because the Sun’s outer shell, the photosphere, behaves as plasma, which is a very good conductor of electricity, and interacts with the magnetic fields of sunspots. The plasma slows down and cools to 1000 K less than the surrounding photosphere which makes it look darker than the surrounding areas. These areas were concentrated magnetic fields appear, are usually part of a loop, as sunspots generally present in pairs which line up parallel to the equator, showing a magnetic polarity. The sunspots in each hemisphere have the opposite polarity to the other. Over the 11 year cycle, the whole polarity reverses as the new set of sunspots form away from the Sun’s equator. Therefore, a complete 22 year cycle returns the polarity to its original

Solar flares are eruptions of energy from the sun’s surface. Quickly reaching temperatures of 10 to 20 million Kelvin, these flares can rise thousands of kilometres above the chromosphere, and can release energies of up to 6 x 1025 joules (equivalent to “the energy of a few million volcanic eruptions on the earth”) [4]. Solar flares have three classifications: X, M, and C-class. X-class solar flares are the largest of the three, and also have the largest impact on Earth, causing long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere, and causing radio blackouts. M-class solar flares are less powerful than X-class, however they can still cause the occasional radiation storm, and brief radio blackouts in the polar regions. C-class are the smallest of them, and barely have any impact on Earth. [5]

Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, it has around 850 times the radius of the Sun and 12 time massive than the Sun, if it was placed in the center of our solar system it would reach beyond the orbit of Mars. The distance from Earth is about 550 light year. It is around 57,500 times brighter than the Sun. Around 12 million years old Antares is already nearing the end of its lifespan and is expected to explode as a supernova in the next million years. Low mass stars such as our sun exist in their main sequence for several billion years. Surface temperature is approximately 18,500

The surface of the sun is worlds away. But on that surface, immense storms rage across the surface. These storms hurtle gusts of charged solar particles across the abyss of space. If the Earth happens to be in the path of the particles, the particles collide with molecules and atoms in the Earth's atmosphere. These atoms become stimulated by the sun's particles and light up. But what happens to cause the atoms to light up is where things start to get interesting.

On 2 August 2016, it was announced that an Earth-like planet had been found orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System. The planet named Proxima B is 4.85 billion years old, which is older than our 4.6 billion year old Sun. It sits a little over 4 light years away from Earth, which speaking in astronomical terms is right under our nose. While the discovery of exoplanets like Proxima B are driven by the same sense of curiosity the ancient Babylonians and Greeks had, sophisticated instruments have been used to discover these worlds. For more than 15 years, astronomers at the European Southern Observatory in Chile have used the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) and the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) to hunt for such planets. These instruments detect wobbles in a star’s movement caused by gravitational tugs of the orbiting planets that they’re searching for. Data collated from UVES and HARPS from the last 16 years allowed astronomers to confirm the finding. While we no longer look towards planets like these to tell our fortune, Proxima B represents a possible future for our civilisation. Its discovery has excited astronomers for its striking similarities to Earth, most notably the fact that it circles Proxima Centauri’s habitable zone: the range of distances ideal for liquid water to form. Coupled with its rocky composition, the potential

The Sun is comprised of six parts: the core, the radiative zone, the convective zone, the photosphere, the chromosphere, and the corona. The core is where protons are merged together to form atoms of helium, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. It is approximately the inner 25% of its radius and the temperature is 15.7 million kelvin. The pressure is sufficient to support nuclear fusion and the density is more than 150 times that of water. Outside that is the radiative zone, where photons of gamma radiation created in the core are emitted and absorbed by hydrogen atoms. A single photon can take 100,000 years to finally get through the radiative zone. Outside the radiative zone is the convective zone, where bubbles of plasma rise and fall like a lava lamp. The photosphere is the layer where the Sun becomes

All of this proves that the energy from a nearby supernova did indeed start the collapse of the gas cloud that formed our solar

The first discovery that we will talk about in this essay, is the discovery of the "solar heartbeat". Scientists have discovered a pulse within the Sun that lies in the layers of gas that revolve underneath the surface of the Sun. Scientists discovered that the Sun's equatorial region rotates at rate that differs from the rate at which the Sun's polar regions rotate. The equatorial region rotating once every twenty-seven days, and the polar regions, every thirty-five days. This differential in rotations extends down a third of the way to the Sun's core, in the convection layer. Rotations at the convection layer also differ from the Sun's equatorial and polar regions, taking only fifteen to sixteen days to complete a revolution. It is believed by astronomers that these internal rotating gas layers are in correspondence with eruptions and solar flares on the surface of the Sun.

The wind blows about 280 miles (450 kilometers) a second throughout the solar system. Every so often, a patch of particles will burst from the sun in a solar flare, which can disrupt satellite communications and knock out power on Earth. Flares usually stem from the activity of sunspots, cool regions of the photosphere related to a shifting magnetic field inside the sun.

Supernova’s can eject horrifying flashes of radiation known as Gamma Ray Bursts. Gamma ray bursts are conceivably the brightest electromagnetic events in the universe. A regular gamma ray burst gives off as much energy as our sun will give in its 10 billion year lifespan, in just a matter of seconds. If WR104, a gamma ray burst future candidate were to directly hit earth, for less than 15 seconds, it would consume 25% of out ozone layer, and lead to mass destruction and starvation. The world’s largest bomb didn’t even come close to that, so far away in fact, that it was exploded right here in our atmosphere whereas WR104, is 8,000 Light Years away!

The first is the precursor stage where magnetic energy is released. In the second stage, known as the impulsive stage, protons and electrons energies are accelerated. During this stage radio waves, hard x-rays, and gamma rays are emitted. In the third stage, called the decay stage, is the buildup of soft x-rays and then the decay of the soft x-rays. The duration of the precursor, impulsive, and decay stages can take anywhere from a few seconds up to one hour. Solar flares form in a layer of the sun called the corona, the outermost layer, where the gases can reach a few million degrees Kelvin(“Solar Flares”). Solar flares normally erupt from sunspots. Typically, these sunspots are temporarily cooler, darker, and the local magnetic field is relatively

Although once foreign giants to man, stars live some of the most explosive lives possible. Over billions of years, the violent development of stars from conception to death is one that had perplexed mankind for a while. Though as we formed a better understanding of how they develop, humans have learned that these stellar orbs directly influence the formation of, or death of objects in the universe. Stars are phenomenal objects in our universe that are instrumental to its development.

The sun is a vital piece to our planet – it provides us with energy, warmth, food and auroras! The sun is an average star in size and is currently in the main sequence stage of its life. There are many parts to our sun, which begins at the core. The core is where the sun’s energy derives from, fusing hydrogen to helium. The outer regions of the core is where the energy travels outward through radiation, then convection, and finally out through the solar atmosphere. The solar atmosphere consists of three classified parts, a photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. The drama that unfolds on the chromosphere and corona play a major role in auroras. Particularly, a massive solar flare classified as a coronal mass ejection. A coronal mass ejection is a type of solar flare that “occur when magnetic fields pointing in opposite directions release energy by interacting with and destroying each other… their magnetic

     Have you ever heard of a solar flare? A solar flare exists after a sunspot has existed for a long time and the magnetic lines of force usually become jumbled. As a result of this jumbling, magnetic energy is stored in the Corona (region of atmosphere above the chromosphere). The energy may be released in a spectacular discharge, which is a solar flare. A solar flare can be as wide as 367,000 miles and as high 500,000 miles out into space. A solar flare is nothing more than helium erupting from the sun like a volcano.

Solar flares release 10 million times more energy than a volcano and during times, there are over 20 solar flares a day. They are about as hot as the Sun’s core. A Solar flare/Solar storm is a brief outburst of intense high-energy radiation from the sun’s surface associated with sunspots and causing electromagnetic disturbances on the Earth, as with radio frequency communications and power line transmissions. Solar flares are caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy. The largest ones can release as much as a billion one - megaton nuclear bombs. Solar flares/Solar storms occur anywhere on the sun, the most violent events on the surface of the sun. We are well protected from the effects of the solar flares.