A solar flare is a violent explosion in the Suns atmosphere that releases vast amounts of energy. Solar flares were first observed on the Sun in 1859 and most of them occur in active regions around sunspots. Solar flares adversely affect our local space weather and pose a very real radiation threat to spacecrafts and astronauts. The new spacecraft Hinode was launched in September 2006, by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to observe solar flares.

A flare is defined as a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. Radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves at the long wavelength end, through optical emission to x-rays and gamma rays at the short wavelength end. The amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time! The first solar flare recorded in astronomical literature was on September 1, 1859.

A flare is defined as a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar system.