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Is there a known theoretical maximum size for a solar flare and would it mean curtains for life on Earth?

honeste_vivere
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1 Answers1

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About 500,000 km

Solar flares can and do get extremely large at times. The largest can be about 500,000 km across. For comparison, Jupiter is about 140,000 km in diameter. So, solar flares can get more than 3x as large as Jupiter at their maximum size.

However, solar flares cannot boil our oceans away. Solar flares consist of positively charged hydrogen ions (protons) that carry a magnetic field along with them. This means that our Earth's own magnetic field deflects these flares, much like how it deals with solar winds.

However, do not be fooled. Although solar flares cannot boil our oceans or strip the atmosphere away, they can cause a host of other problems. The Earth's magnetic field doesn't actually repel the flares away, it instead funnels the flares down to the poles where it excites the ions and molecules in the atmosphere to form auroras. This means that the poles are exposed to dangerously high radiation levels during a flare. Flares can also tamper with our electrical grids, GPS and radio systems.

TL;DR. Solar flares can get half a million kilometres across, but they cannot boil our oceans away, no matter how large.

Arcturus
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