Solar flare
Videos
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.)
Coronal mass ejection
Videos
A coronal mass ejection is a significant ejection of plasma mass from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and other forms of solar activity, but a broadl
When observed in white-light coronagraph imagery, CMEs sometimes resemble a light bulb, possessing a bright bulb-like outer shell surrounding a dark void and compact inner structure.
Photo from the International Space Station (ISS) of aurora australis during a geomagnetic storm on 29 May 2010. The storm was most likely caused by a CME that had erupted from the Sun on 24 May 2010, five days prior to the storm.