A solar flare is a sudden flash of brightness observed near the Sun's surface.It involves a very broad spectrum of emissions, requiring an energy release of typically 1 × 1020 joules of energy, but they can emit up to 1 × 1025 joules (the latter is roughly the equivalent of 1 billion megatons of TNT, or over 400 times more energy than released from the impact of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter).Flares are often, but not always, accompanied by a coronal mass ejection. The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona of the sun into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day or two after the event. The term is also used to refer to similar phenomena in other stars, where the term stellar flare applies.