SUNSPOTS AND SOLAR FLARES



SUNSPOTS
Galileo recorded dark spots on the Sun in the seventeenth century. Though Chinese astronomers reported the dark spots about two centuries earlier, Galileo's findings are more current in people's minds. Sunspots have strong magnetic fields and are cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface (this is why they appear darker). Before 1700, astronomers all across the globe started accumulating sunspot numbers. Information from the past three hundred years have furnished us with enough facts to make conclusions about sunspots and their effects
Sunspots are magnetic storms on the surface of the sun. They are caused by magnetic fields which change due to the uneven revolving of the solar surface. This causes the field to create magnetic loop holes which leap off the solar surface. The magnetic loop leaves the surface and touches it again; two sunspots occur. The magnetic loop is likely to divide into several loops, creating even more sunspots. This group of sun spots is simply called a sunspot group. Eventually, the original spots fade away and as the loop continus to divide new spots form. While scientists do not know why sunspot cycles come to pass, they do know that the cycles are closely related to other solar activity.
These naturally occurring magnetic storms on the face of our star, have been studied for many years. The first known sighting of them occured about 2,800 years ago. Studies have been made of these magnetic storms to see if they had any effects on the planet Earth. Some astronomers believe they do, while others are in denial. Nevertheless, the common belief remains that sunspots, when hyperactive, can cause changes in electrical devices on earth.


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SOLAR FLARES
The first solar flare was recorded in September 1, 1859 by scientists Richard Hodgson and Richard C. Carrington.What a solarflare is, is the magnificent discharge that occurs after the magnetic lines of a sunspot group begin to jumble. What is really happening when the lines jumble is magnetic energy that was harvested in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. This sudden eruption is rapid, and has intense variation in brightness. High energy radiation (ie. radio waves, optical emission, x-rays, gamma rays, etc.) is blasted throughout space and practically emitted across the whole electromagnetic spectrum. The amount of energy released is equal to MILLIONS of hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time.
The size of a solar flare varies. One flare can be the size of a sunspot or the size of a whole sunspot group. It usually has a temperature similar to that of the sun's photosphere. The amount of time it takes for a flare to last varies directly with its size. The smaller flares last for approximately ten minutes. Larger flares can last up to one full hour.
There are three basic stages to a solar flare; the precursor stage, the impulsive stage, and the decay stage.In the precursor stage, the emission of magnetic energy (such as soft x-rays) begins, and can be detected. During the impulsive stage, radio waves, hard x-rays, and gamma rays are released. In the third stage, the decay stage, soft x-rays will gradually build up and decay, and all of this can be detected. All three of these stages can be completed with in a matter of seconds. However, their duration acn also take as long as one hour.

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