30 May 2021. What Is The Difference Between A CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) & Solar Flares
3526-30 May 2021. What's the difference between a CME, solar flare?
Background.
Solar cycle 25 is recognized as having started in November. A solar cycle is marked by increased sunspot appearance and activity.
Leading-up to November, our sun had been active in tossing-out coronal mass. Although it is predicted that this solar cycle is not going to be overall very active (relative to past cycles); we have already seen a marked increase in activity, even before this one officially began.
As we head into Cycle #25, we are seeing increased solar activity. A variety of interesting phenomena is occurring, It's important to understand the basic vocabulary.
This video comes as a result of conversation in the chats of Wage's World livestreams, in amongst other places.
There is an accompanying video that explains some of the accompanying phenomena.
If we are identifying a solar cycle based on the prevalence of sunspots, it would be nice to know what one is.
Before this, it might be nice to know what a sunspot is...
Little introduction to this video. This is a reading of material I've collected from online. I needed to provide a common vocabulary (lexicon) of phrases, first and foremost, as the time is running short. This is simply the spoken text. a livestream is intended to show the images that would otherwise accompany this work.
Keywords: solar cycle, cme, solar flare, solar wind, plasma, magnetic field, .
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- CME: What is a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)?
" Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona.
" They can eject billions of tons of coronal material and carry an embedded magnetic field (frozen in flux) that is stronger than the background solar wind interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength.
" CMEs travel outward from the Sun at speeds ranging from slower than 250 kilometers per second (km/s) to as fast as near 3000 km/s.
" The fastest Earth-directed CMEs can reach our planet in as little as 15-18 hours.
" Slower CMEs can take several days to arrive.
" They expand in size as they propagate away from the Sun and larger CMEs can reach a size comprising nearly a quarter of the space between Earth and the Sun by the time it reaches our planet.
" The NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) carries a coronagraph – known as the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO).
" This instrument has two ranges for optical imaging of the Sun’s corona: C2 (covers distance range of 1.5 to 6 solar radii) and C3 (range of 3 to 32 solar radii).
" The LASCO instrument is currently the primary means used by forecasters to analyze and categorize CMEs; however another coronagraph is on the NASA STEREO-A spacecraft as an additional source.
" Imminent CME arrival is first observed by the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, located at the L1 orbital area.
" Sudden increases in density, total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength, and solar wind speed at the DSCOVR spacecraft indicate arrival of the CME-associated interplanetary shock ahead of the magnetic cloud.
" This can often provide 15 to 60 minutes advanced warning of shock arrival at Earth – and any possible sudden impulse or sudden storm commencement; as registered by Earth-based magnetometers.
" Important aspects of an arriving CME and its likelihood for causing more intense geomagnetic storming include the strength and direction of the IMF beginning with shock arrival, followed by arrival and passage of the plasma cloud and frozen-in-flux magnetic field.
Source: NOAA; published: Tuesday, February 02, 2021 16:41 UTC
[1). -link below].
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- Solar Flare: What is a 'solar flare' ? [Short Answer:]
" A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system’s largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours.
" We typically see a solar flare by the photons (or light) it releases, at most every wavelength of the spectrum. The primary ways we monitor flares are in x-rays and optical light.
" Flares are also sites where particles (electrons, protons, and heavier particles) are accelerated."
Source: NASA; Editor: Holly Zell ; Last Updated: Aug 7, 2017 [2). -link below]
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- Source links:
[1). (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/what-coronal-mass-ejection-cme)]
[2). (https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/what-is-a-solar-flare)]
[3). (https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/help/what-are-solar-flares.html)]
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schumann-resonances web link: (https://www.schumann-resonances.com/post/26-may-2021-what-s-the-difference-between-a-cme-solar-flare)