Philippa Browning is Professor of Astrophysics in the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. She specialises in the mathematical modelling of fusion plasmas.

Solar flares are dramatic explosions in the outer atmosphere of the Sun – the solar corona. They produce electromagnetic radiation and beams of high-energy charged particles, which can have serious detrimental effects on space instrumentation and on power systems and communication on Earth.

Since the first solar flare was observed in 1859, we have learnt a lot about how flares: they result from a release of stored magnetic energy through a reconfiguration of the magnetic field known as “magnetic reconnection”. However, many questions remain unanswered! Our current understanding has advanced through recent observations from space and ground, as well as computer simulations.

In this talk Prof Browning explain how the surprisingly high temperature of the solar corona (1 million degrees) may result from many small flares, and she will discuss much more powerful flares which have been discovered on other stars.