Small-Scale Turbulence May Help Power Solar Explosions

The same sun that shines on bright, cheery days is also responsible for the biggest explosions in the solar system. These explosions, called solar flares, can detonate with the energy of more than one billion megaton bombs and spew dangerous radiation and high-energy particles into space. An X2.7 class solar flare flashes on the edge of the sun on May 5, 2015. This image was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and shows the sun in a blend of two high-energy ultraviolet wavelengths. The...