An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A bright eruption form the Sun’s → chromosphere in the vicinity of a → sunspot. Solar flares are caused by tremendous explosions on the surface of the Sun. In a matter of just a few minutes they heat the material to many millions of degrees and release as much energy as a billion → megatons of → T.N.T..

See also: → solar; → flare.