What can Solar Flares do the earth?
Solar flares produce electromagnetic radiation that reaches the Earth 8 minutes after it is produced. There is radiation over the whole light spectrum, but we are mostly concerned about X-rays and Gamma-rays since they are the most energetic. You also have to know that solar flares are often associated with coronal mass ejections (CME). CMEs result in the ejection of highly energetic protons, electrons and ions. All of these can cause some trouble for airline pilots. In space, the effect of these particles and radiation could be very harmful, but fortunately airline pilots have a great natural protection: the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere. The magnetic field protects the Earth from most of the charged particles. But there is a ‘hole’ in the magnetic field: the lines of the magnetic field go from one pole to the other, therefore charged particles can enter Earth’s atmosphere at the poles. So if the pilot flies nearby the pole, he will get struck by more of these charged particle
