Solar flares constitute the sudden release of energy on the sun's surface. They become more frequent and stronger on an 11 year cycle (also called the sunspot cycle). They are caused by the gradual storing up and followed by the sudden release of energy in magnetic fields that accompany the sunspot cycle. Understanding the origin of the sun's magnetic fields, the storage of energy by them, and the release of that energy during flares is a poorly understood subject. The Principal Investigator (PI) proposes to observe magnetic fields in sunspot regions during the forthcoming solar sunspot maximum, using a newly developed magneto-optic filter (consisting of a resonance cell filled with potassium vapor in a strong magnetic field). This filter permits the measurement of both transverse and longitudinal components of solar magnetic fields. The PI expects that his work will further our understanding of the magnetic fields accompanying solar flares and test the hypothesis that the energy released during flares results from stressed or sheared magnetic field configurations.
