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X-ray flare sparks quake inside Sun

Nature volume 393, pages 317–318 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Solar flares involve a release of the Sun's magnetic energy as X-radiation, particle beams and high-speed plasma flows. But we have discovered, using data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), that these flares also affect the Sun's interior, generating seismic waves similar to earthquakes. For example, a three-kilometre-high seismic wave was caused by a moderate X-ray flare that occurred on 9 July 1996 and propagated at about 50 kilometres per second to a distance 120,000 kilometres from the flare site.

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Figure 1: Characteristics of the solar flare of 9 July 1996.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305-4085, California, USA

    A. G. Kosovichev

  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Glasgow University, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK

    V. V. Zharkova

Authors
  1. A. G. Kosovichev
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  2. V. V. Zharkova
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Kosovichev, A., Zharkova, V. X-ray flare sparks quake inside Sun. Nature 393, 317–318 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/30629

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