Hinode Discovers the Origin of White Light Flare

White light images of solar surface observed by the Hinode Solar Optical Telescope at 22:07 UT, before the flare, on Dec. 14, 2006. Credit: NASA/JAXA

A solar flare is the most energetic explosion observed in the solar system. A large percentage of flares are recognized as a result of associated brightening in the visible light spectrum, and thus are called white light flares. A joint Japan-United States research team has identified the origin of the white light emission in solar flares. The discovery was made by quantitatively analyzing an X-class solar flare, which was observed simultaneously by two solar-observing satellites: Hinode and the NASA SMEX mission RHESSI.