Solar flares are not to be confused with other solar activity.
First, there are prominences, which have two different categories. Quiescent prominences are stable, lasting anywhere from weeks to months. Ionized gas follows the path of the magnetic field that loops out into the corona. Because the gas is denser and cooler than the gas in the corona, some of it falls back to the surface, creating a gaseous curtain. Eruptive prominences are much less stable, sometimes only lasting a few hours. These are a result of a stable magnetic field suddenly becoming unstable, ending in the prominence detaching and being ejected into space.
Quiescent prominences differ from solar flares in that they are stable and they do not eject anything into space--it all stays within the Sun's atmosphere. Eruptive prominences on the other hand do emit. Unlike solar flares, which mostly emit magnetic radiation, eruptive prominences emit mass amounts of matter in the form of gas.
Another type of solar activity is a coronal mass ejection. These are best thought of as magnetic bubbles of ionized gas that escape the solar atmosphere. Anywhere from 5x10^12 and 5x10^13 kg of mass are ejected at 400 to 1000 km/s. During periods of low solar activity they occur about once a week, but they can occur up to 3 times a day during peak periods of activity.
Coronal mass ejections can be associated with solar flares, but about 70% of the time they are a result of prominences. So, they are not the same as solar flares, but they are sometimes related.
First, there are prominences, which have two different categories. Quiescent prominences are stable, lasting anywhere from weeks to months. Ionized gas follows the path of the magnetic field that loops out into the corona. Because the gas is denser and cooler than the gas in the corona, some of it falls back to the surface, creating a gaseous curtain. Eruptive prominences are much less stable, sometimes only lasting a few hours. These are a result of a stable magnetic field suddenly becoming unstable, ending in the prominence detaching and being ejected into space.
Quiescent prominences differ from solar flares in that they are stable and they do not eject anything into space--it all stays within the Sun's atmosphere. Eruptive prominences on the other hand do emit. Unlike solar flares, which mostly emit magnetic radiation, eruptive prominences emit mass amounts of matter in the form of gas.
Another type of solar activity is a coronal mass ejection. These are best thought of as magnetic bubbles of ionized gas that escape the solar atmosphere. Anywhere from 5x10^12 and 5x10^13 kg of mass are ejected at 400 to 1000 km/s. During periods of low solar activity they occur about once a week, but they can occur up to 3 times a day during peak periods of activity.
Coronal mass ejections can be associated with solar flares, but about 70% of the time they are a result of prominences. So, they are not the same as solar flares, but they are sometimes related.