SOLAR FLARES AND ERUPTIONS Lyndsay Fletcher University of Glasgow.
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Transcript of SOLAR FLARES AND ERUPTIONS Lyndsay Fletcher University of Glasgow.
SOLAR FLARES AND ERUPTIONSLyndsay Fletcher
University of Glasgow
Sunspots - hotbeds of solar activity
Solar minimum, solar maximum
An active region seen by Hinode
Winding up the magnetic field
Gas at the solar equator has a higher speed than that at the poles.
This ‘winds up’ the magnetic field - like stretching a rubber band
Magnetic Loops
Twisted loops
images:TRACE/NASA
A Solar Flare
An explosion in the Sun’s corona cause by magnetic energy build-up
Start of a coronal mass ejection
A billion tonnes of ionised gas, moving at a million kilometers per hour
Coronal mass ejections seen by SOHO
During solar maximum, the Sun produces about 3 big mass ejections per day
Coronal mass ejections seen by SOHO
How do flares and eruptions affect Earth?
We live inside the atmosphere of a star!