Solar flares have been phenomena of both academic and practical interest since their discovery in 1859. From the academic point of view, they are the nearest events for studying the explosive release of energy in astrophysical magnetized plasmas. From the practical point of view, they have been associated with the disruption of communication channels on Earth, from telegraph communications in 1859 to radio and television signals today. More generally, solar eruptive events can wreak havoc on the electrical power grid, satellite operations, and GPS signals, and energetic charged particles and radiation are dangerous to passengers on high-altitude polar flights and to astronauts.
Flares are not the only explosive phenomena on the Sun. More difficult to observe but equally energetic are the large coronal mass ejections (CMEs), ejections of up to 10 billion tons of magnetized plasma into the solar wind at speeds that can exceed 1000 km/s. CMEs are primarily...
