Solar flares are accompanied by bursts of both radio emission observed with radio telescopes and by X-ray bursts detected by satellites. The spectrum of an x-ray burst sometimes includes emission lines from iron atoms which may have lost as many as 24 of their 26 electrons due to the temperatures in the flares! Even though the X-ray output is considered to be minuscule (with a peak luminosity of approximately 10³¹ erg/sec), the emission from flares can have great effects. They can affect the ability of the atmosphere to reflect radio waves and can disrupt short-wave radio transmissions. The March 1989 flare affected short-wave radio communication for 24 hours! The "steady" X-ray output of the Sun, which is present even when there are no flares on the surface, amounts to about 10²⁷ ergs/sec, less than one-millionth of its optical luminosity and one ten-billionth of the output of Sco X-1.

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