Superflares are in the news, and with it comes wild claims about their possible threat to human civilization. Let the fear-mongering begin!
X Factor
A solar flare is an intense burst of energy released at the surface of the Sun. It is caused by a process known as magnetic reconnection. The rotation of the Sun occurs at different rates depending on latitude. It has a rotational period of about 25 days at its equator, but about 34 days near the poles. This means the equatorial regions of the Sun rotate faster than the polar regions. Because of this differential rotation, the magnetic field of the Sun is twisted, so that over time the field lines of the magnetic field gradually wrap around the Sun.
Flare Up
Carbon 14 is radioactive, and decays over time. It is one of the ways we can date the age of living things long after they’ve died. The reason is because carbon 14 is generated in the atmosphere when high energy particles strike nitrogen atoms in the upper atmosphere, and living thing utilize that carbon while they are alive. Once they die the carbon 14 in them isn’t replenished, so as the carbon 14 decays it over time it gives us a measure of how long an organism has been dead.