Stellar flare. Computer artwork of a stellar flare erupting through space from a star(not seen). A stellar flare is an intense eruption of radiation and hot plasma (ionised gas) from the surface of a star. It may result from a starquake, caused by shifts in the very strong magnetic fields of a star. If solar flare material impacts the Earth, or Earth's magnetosphere, it could disrupt radio communications and satellite operations. Solar flares also threaten astronauts working outside the protection of the Earth's atmosphere. This may also represent a coronal mass ejection (a similar phenomenon) or a loop prominence (plasma arcing along the solar magnetic field lines).