Monday

We are now at the end of cycle 24, which since late 2008 has given us many new examples of the explosive energy release in flares. This is the rapid process in which energy is liberated in the solar atmosphere to accelerate particles, heat material and produce bulk motions. The multi-wavelength signatures of flares have been studied in great detail using existing and new ground and space-based telescopes, driving theoretical developments to quantify the underlying physical processes. Although our understanding of these mechanisms has progressed over the last solar cycle, questions of how, why and where explosive energy release occurs remains a fundamental and long-standing problem in solar physics. In this talk, I will recap some of the advances made in understanding solar flares of all sizes during the last solar cycle, and the new opportunities that exist in the coming cycle 25.