how are sunspots flares and prominences related

How Are Sunspots Flares And Prominences Related?

Solar prominences are the plasma loops that connect two sunspots. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are eruptions of highly energetic particles that can erupt from the Sun’s surface and cause problems with power grids and communications on Earth.Feb 24, 2012

What do prominences and solar flares have in common?

What do sunspots, solar prominences, and solar flares all have in common? They are all strongly influenced by magnetic fields on the Sun. … Coronal mass ejections and other activity associated with the sunspot cycle can disrupt radio communications and knock out sensitive electronic equipment.

Can sunspots produce flares and prominences?

Such violent events are called solar flares. Solar prominences are typically observed to be high loops of hot ionized gases which follow the geometry of the magnetic fields associated with pairs of sunspots.

Do prominences come from sunspots?

They are associated with sunspot groups and, like these, are correlated in numbers and activity with the solar cycle. Quiescent prominences tend to emerge smoothly and subside much more slowly, so they may be visible for several months. … Prominences are clouds of incandescent, ionized gas ejected from the Sun’s surface.

Do prominences cause solar flares?

Prominences are associated with the release of high energy particles, known as a solar flare. If a prominence breaks apart, it produces a coronal mass ejection. The solar flare aspect of a prominence has the most common effect on the earth.

What do sunspots and solar flares have in common quizlet?

What do sunspots, solar prominences, and solar flares all have in common? They all have about the same temperature. … Coronal mass ejections and other activity associated with the sunspot cycle can disrupt radio communications and knock out sensitive electronic equipment.

How are CMEs solar prominences and solar flares similar?

“Sometimes they occur together, but they are not the same thing.” CMEs are giant clouds of particles from the Sun hurled out into space, while flares are flashes of light—occurring in various wavelengths—on the Sun.

How do prominences occur?

The prominence plasma flows along a tangled and twisted structure of magnetic fields generated by the sun’s internal dynamo. An erupting prominence occurs when such a structure becomes unstable and bursts outward, releasing the plasma.

What is the difference between solar wind and solar flare?

Solar winds constantly occur due to the corona of the sun continually expanding, but solar flares coincide with the sun’s 11-year cycle. At the start of a solar cycle, the sun’s magnetic field is weak, leading to fewer solar flares.

How are solar flares formed?

Solar flares occur when a buildup of magnetic energy on the sun is suddenly released. They usually erupt from sunspots, temporary dark and relatively cool patches on our star’s surface where the local magnetic field is very strong.

What are sunspots and why does this occur What are prominences and why does this occur?

Sunspots occur in pairs because each is one side of a loop of the Sun’s magnetic field that reaches the Sun’s surface. These spots are cooler and darker than the rest of the Sun’s surface and they are marked by intense magnetic activity. Solar prominences are the plasma loops that connect two sunspots.

How do solar flares affect the solar wind?

The solar wind can be strongly affected by solar flares and coronal mass ejections, both of which fling huge amounts of coronal material and embedded magnetic fields into space. These ejected particles become a powerful “gust” in the solar wind. When they reach the earth, they can cause severe space weather storms.

Where do prominences originate on the Sun?

photosphere Prominences are anchored to the Sun’s surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun’s hot outer atmosphere, called the corona. A prominence forms over timescales of about a day, and stable prominences may persist in the corona for several months, looping hundreds of thousands of miles into space.

When prominences join they cause sunspots solar flares?

Solar prominences are the plasma loops that connect two sunspots. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are eruptions of highly energetic particles that can erupt from the Sun’s surface and cause problems with power grids and communications on Earth.

What is the relationship between sunspots solar prominences solar flares and the magnetic activity on the Sun?

Sunspots occur in pairs because each is one side of a loop of the Sun’s magnetic field that reaches the Sun’s surface. These spots are cooler and darker than the rest of the Sun’s surface and they are marked by intense magnetic activity. Solar prominences are the plasma loops that connect two sunspots.

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What happens when prominences join?

Loops in sunspot regions (prominences) sometimes suddenly connect releasing large amounts of magnetic energy. The energy heats gas on the Sun to millions of degrees Celcius causing the gas to erupt into space. A sudden release of energy occurs when prominences link together. This is what these eruptions are called.

Are solar flares related to sunspots?

Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. Solar flares are a sudden explosion of energy caused by tangling, crossing or reorganizing of magnetic field lines near sunspots.

How are solar eruptions influenced by the sunspot cycle quizlet?

The likelihood of seeing solar prominences or solar flares is higher when sunspots are more common and lower when they are less common. The Sun’s entire magnetic field flip-flops at the end of each cycle (at solar minimum).

What do solar flares and coronal mass ejections have in common?

Which do solar flares and coronal mass ejections have in common? … They are caused by the sun’s changing magnetic field. They are explosive events that can affect Earth.

How are sunspots related to coronal mass ejections?

Sunspots are caused by disturbances in the Sun’s magnetic field welling up to the photosphere, the Sun’s visible “surface”. The powerful magnetic fields in the vicinity of sunspots produce active regions on the Sun, which in turn frequently spawn disturbances such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

How does each solar prominence get its shape?

How does each solar prominence get its shape? It erupts from the sun’s surface but is pulled back down by the sun’s gravity, forming a curve. What are the most violent of all solar disturbances? A sudden outward eruption of electrically charged particles such as electrons and protons.

What is the difference between a prominence and a filament?

When viewed spewing from the edge of the Sun against the darkness of space, astronomers call the feature a prominence. But when seen against the background of the Sun, from a different perspective, the feature appears darker than its surroundings and is called a filament.

What does solar flares mean in science?

A solar flare is a tremendous explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in ‘twisted’ magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released. … Scientists classify solar flares according to their brightness in the x-ray wavelengths.

How do sunspots and solar flares affect Earth?

If sunspots are active, more solar flares will result creating an increase in geomagnetic storm activity for Earth. Therefore during sunspot maximums, the Earth will see an increase in the Northern and Southern Lights and a possible disruption in radio transmissions and power grids.

What is the difference between the 2 types of prominences?

There are two basic types of prominences: (1) quiescent, or long-lived, and (2) transient. The former are associated with large-scale magnetic fields, marking the boundaries of unipolar magnetic regions or sunspot groups. Because the large unipolar plates are long-lived, the quiescent prominences are as well.

Why do solar flares occur?

Flares occur when intense magnetic fields on the Sun become too tangled. Like a rubber band that snaps when it is twisted too far, the tangled magnetic fields release energy when they “snap”. … Solar flares burst forth from the intense magnetic fields in the vicinity of active regions on the Sun.

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What produces solar flares quizlet?

A solar flare is a rapid variation in brightness seen on the sun. It occurs when magnetic energy built up in the solar atmosphere is released in huge magnetic loops called solar prominences. … Sunspots cause auroras, communication blackouts, and usually increased solar flare activity.

What elements are in solar flares?

Many individual gamma-ray lines from a wide variety of different elements in the solar atmosphere have been detected. They result from the decay of such elements as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, etc. that are excited to high energy states in the various nuclear interactions.

What are the characteristics of solar flares?

Flares release energy in many forms – electro-magnetic (Gamma rays and X-rays), energetic particles (protons and electrons), and mass flows. Flares are characterized by their brightness in X-rays (X-Ray flux). The biggest flares are X-Class flares.

What do we mean by solar activity describe sunspots prominences flares and coronal mass ejections?

Describe some of the features of solar activity, including sunspots, solar prominences, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. Magnetic fields create features on the Sun’s surface and atmosphere. … Coronal mass ejections are when huge bubbles of charged particles from flares or other solar storms escape from the Sun.

What happens during a solar flare?

The plasma medium is heated to tens of millions of kelvins, while electrons, protons, and heavier ions are accelerated to near the speed of light. Flares produce electromagnetic radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum at all wavelengths, from radio waves to gamma rays.

What layer of the Sun do solar flares originate?

Solar flares extend out to the layer of the Sun called the corona. The corona is the outermost atmosphere of the Sun, consisting of highly rarefied gas. This gas normally has a temperature of a few million degrees Kelvin.

What is solar wind caused by?

The solar wind is created by the outward expansion of plasma (a collection of charged particles) from the Sun’s corona (outermost atmosphere). This plasma is continually heated to the point that the Sun’s gravity can’t hold it down. It then travels along the Sun’s magnetic field lines that extend radially outward.

What affects solar wind?

The sun’s activity shifts over the course of its 11-year cycle, with sun spot numbers, radiation levels, and ejected material changing over time. These alterations affect the properties of the solar wind, including its magnetic field, velocity, temperature and density.