During certain space weather events, the density of ionised gas can increase and affect these radio communications. However, there are some caveats to whether these ejections will strike the Earth. Solar flares only impact the Earth when the occur on the side of the Sun facing the planet; because the flares are made of protons, if scientists can see it, then the Earth could be affected. That said, with increasing technology, human beings are increasingly more at risk through indirect effects.
Global positioning systems and the electrical grid are the greatest risk, as power surges can blow out the transformers. These can take time, and cost, to replace — and that is only exacerbated if many are destroyed at once. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later?
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The frequency of flares coincides with the Sun's eleven year cycle. When the solar cycle is at a minimum, active regions are small and rare and few solar flares are detected. These increase in number as the Sun approaches the maximum part of its cycle. The Sun will reach its next maximum in the year , give or take one year.
A person cannot view a solar flare by simply staring at the Sun. Flares are in fact difficult to see against the bright emission from the photosphere. Instead, specialized scientific instruments are used to detect the radiation signatures emitted during a flare. The radio and optical emissions from flares can be observed with telescopes on the Earth. Energetic emissions such as x-rays and gamma rays require telescopes located in space, since these emissions do not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.
A Digression: How is the Corona Heated? M-class flares are medium-sized; they generally cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth's polar regions. Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare. Compared to X- and M-class events, C-class flares are small with few noticeable consequences here on Earth. Solar flares are different to 'coronal mass ejections' CMEs , which were once thought to be initiated by solar flares.
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