Coronal magnetic storms: A new perspective on flares and the ‘solar flare myth’ debate

Abstract

Recently Gosling (1993) examined the interplanetary consequences of solar activity, and suggested that the coronal mass ejection (CME) was the prime driver of most disturbances (i.e., interplanetary shocks, high-energy particles, geomagnetic storms, etc.) and that the solar flare was relatively unimportant in this context. He coined the phrase ‘Solar Flare Myth’. Since that paper there has been much debate on the origin of interplanetary disturbances - most people sitting squarely in the flare or CME camp. Švestka (1995) has attacked Gosling's conclusions on the grounds that it is misleading to ignore the flare, and that past flare classifications were perfectly adequate for explaining the observations described by Gosling. This paper is a comment on Švestka's report and an attempt to put the Solar Flare Myth into perspective - indeed it is an attempt to view the solar flare/CME phenomena in a more constructive light.