Solar flare

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/solar-flare

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the associated phenomena?Often co-occur with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and Solar Particle Events (SPEs)
2. Why do solar flares happen near sunspots?Solar flares occur in active regions with strong magnetic fields. The twisted magnetic lines in sunspots reconnect and release energy, creating a flare.
3. How do solar flares affect Earth?The flare’s radiation is mostly absorbed by Earth's upper atmosphere. But it can trigger storms that disturb satellites, GPS, and even cause power line currents.

Magnetic reconnection: A fundamental plasma physics process where magnetic field lines break and reconfigure, releasing energy.
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME): A massive burst of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun's corona, often associated with solar flares.
Space weather: The conditions in space, particularly near Earth, that can affect technological systems and human activities.