Flares are sudden brightenings in the solar atmosphere caused by the reconnection of magnetic field lines in active regions. As the field lines reconnect, magnetic energy is converted into heat and kinetic energy, producing events such as flares and coronal mass ejections. Low energy flares are much more prevalent than large flares, but their rate of occurrence is not yet well established.
Flares are interesting to researchers due to the high energies involved and the undesired effects they can cause on Earth (e.g., satellite failures and radio communication disruptions). They are difficult to detect from ground-based telescopes due to the lack of predictability in both their timings and locations.
