The sun is a vital source of light and warmth, but it also produces violent flares and eruptions that can disrupt navigation, communication and electricity here on Earth. These disruptive events occur when magnetic field energy, stored through the sun’s million-degree corona, is readily converted into other forms by a process that is still poorly understood. The physics behind this energy conversion remains the focus of active research, both through theoretical modeling and observation using orbiting X-ray telescopes.

In this first Provost Distinguished Lecture of the Fall 2022 semester, Dana Longcope, Professor and Head of the Department of Physics at Montana State University, Bozeman, discusses his work and the current state of knowledge in this lecture, titled: Solar Flares, Dramatic, Disruptive and Puzzling. It was recorded at the Museum of the Rockies on October 18, 2022. He was introduced by Dr. RIchard Canfield, Research Professor, retired in the MSU Department of Physics.