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Solar Flare
Background
A solar flare is a concentrated burst of electromagnetic radiation that takes place in the Sun’s atmosphere. These events happen in active regions and may occur alongside coronal mass ejections, solar particle releases, and other types of solar activity. Their frequency follows the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle.
Solar flares are generally believed to form when magnetic energy stored in the Sun’s atmosphere accelerates nearby charged particles within the plasma. This process produces radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. A flare typically shows several stages: an early precursor phase, an impulsive phase dominated by particle acceleration, a gradual phase where the heated plasma cools through radiation and energy transfer back to lower layers of the atmosphere, and, in some cases, a still-mysterious EUV late phase that is not yet fully understood.
On Earth, the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray output from flares is absorbed by the sunlit side of the upper atmosphere—primarily the ionosphere—and does not reach the ground. This added absorption can temporarily raise ionization levels in the ionosphere, which may disrupt short-wave radio signals. Forecasting solar flares remains an active scientific field.
Similar flare events occur on other stars as well, where they are known as stellar flares.
Appearances
General Description: Solar flares appear as bright, concentrated bursts of light on the Sun’s surface. They form in areas of intense magnetic activity and stand out as sudden, high-energy eruptions across the solar atmosphere.
Special Features: A solar flare can extend through multiple layers of the Sun’s atmosphere, including the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. During an eruption, the surrounding plasma becomes extremely hot and emits radiation across all wavelengths, from radio waves to gamma rays. Some flares are accompanied by fast ejections of material known as flare sprays.
Alternate Forms/Disguises: Solar flares vary widely in size, brightness, and duration. They may appear as small, localized flashes or as larger, more sustained eruptions depending on the magnetic conditions that trigger them. Flares can look different when observed in various wavelengths, revealing structural details not visible to the naked eye.
General Information
Name: Solar Flare
Origin: Real World
Appearance: Flares of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere
Classification: Solar phenomena, Magnetospherics, Heliophysics
Environment: Outer Space
Results
- Localized emission of electromagnetic radiation int he Sun's atmosphere
- Temporarily increase the ionization of the ionosphere which may interfere with short-wave radio communication
Codex Statistics
Tiering System: 6-C for a typical flare to 6-B for a large flare
Attack Potency: Island level (Potency) for a typical flare (The energy released during a flare is typically on the order of 10^27 ergs (1e20 joules)[1]) to County level (Potency) for a large flare (Large Flares emit up to 10^32 ergs (1e25 Joules) of energy[2]. Solar Flares are noted to be the most powerful explosions in the solar system, the biggest ones having as much energy as a billion hydrogen bombs)
Attack Speed: Speed of Light (The light from a solar flare travels at the speed of light, reaching Earth in about eight minutes), Lower with the particles emitted in a solar flare (The particles emitted in a solar flare can take anywhere from a few minutes to several days to arrive depending on their speed)
Range: Varies up to Interplanetary (Solar Flares which happen to be fired off in just the right direction, can probably reach distances of 350 AU (5.236e+10 kilometers) or more)
Powers and Techniques
- Temperature Manipulation (As the magnetic energy is being released, particles, including electrons, protons, and heavy nuclei are heated and accelerated in the solar atmosphere. Inside a flare, the temperature typically reaches 10 or 20 million degrees Kelvin and can be as high as 100 million degrees Kelvin)
- Radiation Manipulation (Radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum)
References
- ↑ The energy released during a flare is typically on the order of 1027 ergs per second. Large flares can emit up to 1032 ergs of energy. This energy is ten million times greater than the energy released from a volcanic explosion. On the other hand, it is less than one-tenth of the total energy emitted by the Sun every second.
- ↑ The energy released during a flare is typically on the order of 1027 ergs per second. Large flares can emit up to 1032 ergs of energy. This energy is ten million times greater than the energy released from a volcanic explosion. On the other hand, it is less than one-tenth of the total energy emitted by the Sun every second.
