Impact of flares on the solar terrestrial environment.

The solar flare is one of the most dramatic phenomena in nature. A large amount of energy, in the form of photons and plasma and energetic particles, is released suddenly from the solar atmosphere and impacts the entire solar-terrestrial environment, from the Sun, through the heliosphere to the Earth and beyond. Flares generate natural phenomena such as shock waves and geomagnetic storms; flares affect man's technology and his ability to survive in space. It is the purpose of this chapter to assess our current understanding of these impacts.