Solar cycle 22
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Solar cycle 22 was the 22nd solar cycle since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began. The solar cycle lasted 9.9 years, beginning in September 1986 and ending in August 1996. T
The Sun, with some sunspots visible, during solar cycle 22 (1992).
Artist's depiction of solar wind colliding with Earth's magnetosphere.
Solar flare
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A solar flare is a relatively intense, localized emission of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mas
Image artifacts (diffraction spikes and vertical streaks) appearing in a CCD image of a major solar flare due to the excess incident radiation
An X3.2-class solar flare observed in different wavelengths. Clockwise from top left: 304, 335, 131, and 193 Å
Electric currents in Earth's dayside ionosphere can be strengthened during a large solar flare.
Richard Carrington's sketch of the first recorded solar flare (A and B mark the initial bright points which moved over the course of five minutes to C and D before disappearing.)