<p><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/users/2531/profrob">ProfRob</a> gives a more detailed explanation of what a solar flare is in his answer to <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/10185/39077">&quot;What triggers a solar flare?&quot;</a> It helps a lot in distinguishing between CME's, eruptions, prominences and solar flares. There is a lot of confusion, even among space enthusiasts, between these phenomena. This is largely because images of prominences and CMEs always seem to be labeled as solar flares. This has been confusing to me, too. A solar flare might be associated with a large eruption of matter, but that is secondary, and the primary feature of a solar flare is plasma being suddenly moved from one location to another by magnetic reconnection, causing it to collide at relativistic speeds with the chromosphere and photosphere, producing the intense light and x-rays seen from earth. Unlike lightning, a solar flare is not an electrostatic discharge. A solar flare is like lightning in the sense that there is a near light-speed flow of charged particles that result in the emission of bright electromagnetic energy, spanning the entire spectrum from radio to gamma waves.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-31T17:52:58.067Z
“a near light-speed flow of charged particles” in a lightning? oRLY?
Incnis Mrsi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-02T18:22:05.493Z
2021-05-02T18:22:05.493Z
Heyzeuss
<p>Solar flares and lightning strikes are both kinds of electric discharges.</p>
<p>A lightning strike is a sudden discharge of electrical energy between an electrically charged cloud and another object, like the ground or another cloud.</p>
<p>A solar flare is a sudden discharge of electrical energy between two electrically charged regions, or &quot;clouds&quot; in the atmosphere of the sun.</p>
<h2>Duration</h2>
<p>A lightning strike lasts about 0.2 seconds, and it is made up of a series of short strokes of about 60 to 70 microseconds each. It produces an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that consists of electromagnetic radiation across the spectrum from radio to gamma waves.</p>
<p>A solar flare lasts on the order of minutes to tens of minutes, and is also comprised of series of short bursts. This video of the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasas-sdo-observes-cinco-de-mayo-solar-flare" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cinco de Mayo solar flare</a> shows the way that the solar flare is comprised of multiple short discharges of electromagnetic radiation, which can be seen in the visual spectrum and also detected in other wavelengths like radio, ultraviolet, and x-ray, and gamma.</p>
<h2>Amount of energy</h2>
<ul>
<li>Large lightning strike: 10<sup>9</sup> joules</li>
<li>Large solar flare: 10<sup>25</sup> joules</li>
</ul>
<h2>Some other gifs of solar flares</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/09/21/can-ripples-on-the-sun-help-predict-solar-flares/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Berkely.edu</a></li>
<li><a href="https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2021/04/21/solar-flare-and-radio-blackout/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Spaceweatherarchive.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/the-sun-flares-up/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cosmosmagazine.com</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Relevant links</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lightning - Wikipedia</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Solar flare - Wikipedia</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Electromagnetic-signatures-of-lightning-near-the-HF-M%C3%A4kel%C3%A4/4799cc96782bd5f959df0d7b52a49fa7786b2bd7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Full-spectrum EMP</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Related questions</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/10185/39077">What triggers solar flares?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/87/what-are-the-main-differences-between-solar-flares-and-coronal-mass-ejections?">What are the main differences between solar flares and coronal mass ejections</a></li>
<li><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/39500/can-lightning-occur-in-stars-like-the-sun">Can lightning occur in stars like the sun?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/39501/39077">Typical wavelength of solar flare</a></li>
</ul>
<h1>My question</h1>
<p>I'm also wondering if a solar flare is an electrostatic discharge. My main question is:</p>
<p>If we were to make an oversimplification about solar flares, would we say that they are big lightning strikes on the sun?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-27T14:22:59.243Z
This is more a question of semantics than astronomy.
eshaya
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-27T15:30:18.687Z
Does this answer your question? [Can lightning occur in stars like the Sun?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/39500/can-lightning-occur-in-stars-like-the-sun)
WarpPrime
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-28T10:13:13.850Z
Other than semantic, a solar flare involves mass, it is not just an electron/current flow. It depend on what have you in mind, but it does not seem a particularly fair description.
Alchimista
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-29T06:54:42.143Z
Lightning strikes and solar flares both involve charged particles, having mass, translating between locations at relativistic speeds. A solar flare is a little bit like an electrostatic discharge in this sense. This brings another question to mind: How much mass is in the electrons in the current of a lightning strike?
Heyzeuss
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-29T09:27:29.593Z
@Iktys perhaps I have been imprecise. But the meaning is that in a strike you do not have electrons or ions from the cloud reaching the ground or viceversa. It is electrical current. A solar flare ejects and transports mass from a point to another.
Alchimista
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-30T13:17:08.763Z
Feel free to write the answer in your EDIT as your own answer and you can accept it, if you feel you've answered your own question :) that's encouraged here!
Daddy Kropotkin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-02T18:24:24.373Z
@DaddyKropotkin, I went ahead a did that.
Heyzeuss
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-31T14:48:26.123Z
No, a flare is not an electrostatic discharge.  See https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/16786/13663
honeste_vivere
<the-sun><solar-flare>
Is it fair to describe a solar flare as a big lightning strike on the sun?
Heyzeuss
# Is it fair to describe a solar flare as a big lightning strike on the sun?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-27)

Solar flares and lightning strikes are both kinds of electric discharges.

A lightning strike is a sudden discharge of electrical energy between an electrically charged cloud and another object, like the ground or another cloud.

A solar flare is a sudden discharge of electrical energy between two electrically charged regions, or "clouds" in the atmosphere of the sun.

## Duration

A lightning strike lasts about 0.2 seconds, and it is made up of a series of short strokes of about 60 to 70 microseconds each. It produces an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that consists of electromagnetic radiation across the spectrum from radio to gamma waves.

A solar flare lasts on the order of minutes to tens of minutes, and is also comprised of series of short bursts. This video of the [Cinco de Mayo solar flare](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasas-sdo-observes-cinco-de-mayo-solar-flare) shows the way that the solar flare is comprised of multiple short discharges of electromagnetic radiation, which can be seen in the visual spectrum and also detected in other wavelengths like radio, ultraviolet, and x-ray, and gamma.

## Amount of energy

* Large lightning strike: 109 joules
* Large solar flare: 1025 joules

## Some other gifs of solar flares

* [Berkely.edu](https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/09/21/can-ripples-on-the-sun-help-predict-solar-flares/)
* [Spaceweatherarchive.com](https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2021/04/21/solar-flare-and-radio-blackout/)
* [Cosmosmagazine.com](https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/the-sun-flares-up/)

## Relevant links

* [Lightning - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning)
* [Solar flare - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare)
* [Full-spectrum EMP](https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Electromagnetic-signatures-of-lightning-near-the-HF-M%C3%A4kel%C3%A4/4799cc96782bd5f959df0d7b52a49fa7786b2bd7)

## Related questions

* [What triggers solar flares?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/10185/39077)
* [What are the main differences between solar flares and coronal mass ejections](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/87/what-are-the-main-differences-between-solar-flares-and-coronal-mass-ejections?)
* [Can lightning occur in stars like the sun?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/39500/can-lightning-occur-in-stars-like-the-sun)
* [Typical wavelength of solar flare](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/39501/39077)

# My question

I'm also wondering if a solar flare is an electrostatic discharge. My main question is:

If we were to make an oversimplification about solar flares, would we say that they are big lightning strikes on the sun?

**Tags:** the-sun, solar-flare

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is more a question of semantics than astronomy.  
> **username_2**: Does this answer your question? [Can lightning occur in stars like the Sun?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/39500/can-lightning-occur-in-stars-like-the-sun)  
> **username_3**: Other than semantic, a solar flare involves mass, it is not just an electron/current flow. It depend on what have you in mind, but it does not seem a particularly fair description.  
> **username_0**: Lightning strikes and solar flares both involve charged particles, having mass, translating between locations at relativistic speeds. A solar flare is a little bit like an electrostatic discharge in this sense. This brings another question to mind: How much mass is in the electrons in the current of a lightning strike?  
> **username_3**: @Iktys perhaps I have been imprecise. But the meaning is that in a strike you do not have electrons or ions from the cloud reaching the ground or viceversa. It is electrical current. A solar flare ejects and transports mass from a point to another.  
> **username_4**: Feel free to write the answer in your EDIT as your own answer and you can accept it, if you feel you've answered your own question :) that's encouraged here!  
> **username_0**: @DaddyKropotkin, I went ahead a did that.  
> **username_5**: No, a flare is not an electrostatic discharge.  See https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/16786/13663  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2021-05-02. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

[ProfRob](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/users/2531/profrob) gives a more detailed explanation of what a solar flare is in his answer to ["What triggers a solar flare?"](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/10185/39077) It helps a lot in distinguishing between CME's, eruptions, prominences and solar flares. There is a lot of confusion, even among space enthusiasts, between these phenomena. This is largely because images of prominences and CMEs always seem to be labeled as solar flares. This has been confusing to me, too. A solar flare might be associated with a large eruption of matter, but that is secondary, and the primary feature of a solar flare is plasma being suddenly moved from one location to another by magnetic reconnection, causing it to collide at relativistic speeds with the chromosphere and photosphere, producing the intense light and x-rays seen from earth. Unlike lightning, a solar flare is not an electrostatic discharge. A solar flare is like lightning in the sense that there is a near light-speed flow of charged particles that result in the emission of bright electromagnetic energy, spanning the entire spectrum from radio to gamma waves.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: “a near light-speed flow of charged particles” in a lightning? oRLY?  

---

