Why are solar flares increasing and how do they affect Earth?

Solar flares are big bursts of energy from the Sun that are getting more frequent, like when you kick a ball harder and faster each time.

The Sun is like a giant, hot bubble, it has a special surface called the photosphere, and deep inside, there's a magnetic mess going on. Sometimes, these magnetic lines twist and snap, creating big bursts of light and energy, that’s a solar flare.

Imagine you're playing with a slinky. When it stretches too far and then snaps back, it makes a big jump. The Sun's magnetic lines are like that slinky, sometimes they stretch and twist so much that they suddenly snap, causing more flares than usual.

This is happening more often because the Sun has entered a more active phase, kind of like going from a slow walk to a sprint.

Solar flares send out charged particles toward Earth. These are like tiny, fast-moving rocks that zoom through space. When they reach our planet, they can cause space weather, this might make radio signals go haywire or even cause lights in the sky called auroras, which look like dancing colors up high.