The NASA funded Solar Flare Energy Release (SolFER) Drive Science Center is a multi-institutional collaboration whose goal is to understand the release of magnetic field energy and associated particle acceleration in flares in the solar corona.
SolFER News
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Decay of the Coronal Magnetic Field
Solar flares are powered by a rapid release of magnetic energy in the solar corona. When, where, how, and with what rate the magnetic reconnection takes place to drive the solar flare remain biggest unknowns despite decades of intensive observational and theoretical studies. Direct… Read More -
SolFER Collaboration Awarded Time on Frontera Supercomputer to Model Solar Flares
Members of the SolFER collaboration have been awarded a substantial grant of computer time on the world-class Frontera supercomputer through the Large-Scale Community Partnerships program run by the University of Texas at Austin. SolFER (Solar Flare Energy Release) is a multi-institution collaboration funded by… Read More -
A New View into the Central Engine of a Large Solar Eruption
A long and thin, “sheet”-like structure with a strong electric current—referred to as a “current sheet”—is believed to be the “central engine” that drives large eruptive solar flares. At the current sheet, opposing magnetic field lines approach, break, and reconnect. Consequently, the previously stored… Read More