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Where do they occur?Like other types of solar activity, solar flares occur in the photosphere surrounding sunspots. The location of these sunspots changes as it goes through its cycle. This cycle lasts 11 years, reaching a maximum number of sunspots--and as a result, solar flares--in the middle of the cycle before dropping down to almost none. As it goes through the cycle, the location of the sunspots also changes. As the graph on the right shows, the sunspots start about 30 degrees away from the equator and get closer to the equator as the cycle progresses.
Click on the graph to get a closer look! |
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How do we know anything about them?Most of the information gained about the surface of the sun comes from the spacecraft SOHO and SDO. SOHO, or Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, is mainly a product of the European Space Agency. It has been active since 1995, sitting 1% of the distance from here to the sun where the gravity from the sun and the earth are equal. This is called the Lagrangian point. SDO, or Solar Dynamics Observatory, is a U.S. spacecraft, which has been active since 2010. Instead of being "parked" like SOHO, the Solar Dynamics Observatory orbits the earth in the geosynchronous orbit so that it is always facing the sun. Both of these projects have allowed scientists to observe and study solar weather and may allow for the prediction of mass ejections several days in advance. Since these ejections can affect earth's communication and power capabilities, being able to predict when they will occur could be helpful.
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