#solar-flares

#solar-flares

The sun is putting on a show. On Sunday the star unleashed several strong and bright solar flares, including one of the most powerful eruptions seen in decades. Far from the steadily glowing orb we sometimes picture, the sun's surface is made up of roiling plasma thrown about by twisting magnetic fields. When these fields snap, they can throw out huge bursts of energy and charged particles into spacea solar flare.

Beautiful yet dangerous solar flares that erupt from the sun could be as hot as 180 million degrees Fahrenheit, researchers say. That's more than six times hotter than solar physicists previously believed, according to a new report in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Alexander Russell, a physicist with the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, called that temperature "a crazy number" that he and his colleagues found "incredible."

In our daily lives, the sun seems constant and quiet, sedately shining at a steady pace. But looks can be deceiving; our star can also blast out powerful solar storms.