We present an overview of solar flares and associated phenomena, drawing upon a wide range of observational data primarily from the RHESSI era. Following an introductory discussion and overview of the status of observational capabilities, the article is split into topical sections which deal with different areas of flare phenomena (footpoints and ribbons, coronal sources, relationship to coronal mass ejections) and their interconnections. We also discuss flare soft X-ray spectroscopy and the energetics of the process. The emphasis is to describe the observations from multiple points of view, while bearing in mind the models that link them to each other and to theory. The present theoretical and observational understanding of solar flares is far from complete, so we conclude with a brief discussion of models, and a list of missing but important observations.

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We report observations of the formation of two filaments -one active and one quiescent, and their subsequent interactions prior to eruption. The active region filament appeared on 17 May 2007, followed by the quiescent filament about 24 hours later. In the 26 hour interval preceding the eruption, which occurred at around 12:50 UT on 19 May 2007, we see the two filaments attempting to merge and filament material is repeatedly heated suggesting magnetic reconnection. The filament structure is observed to become increasingly dynamic preceding the eruption with two small hard X-ray sources seen close to the active part of the filament at around 01:38 UT on 19 May 2007 during one of the activity episodes. The final eruption on 19 May at about 12:51 UT involves a complex CME structure, a flare and a coronal wave. A magnetic cloud is observed near Earth by the STEREO-B and WIND spacecraft about 2.7 days later. Here we describe the behaviour of the two filaments in the period prior to the eruption and assess the nature of their dynamic interactions.

We present an overview of solar flares and associated phenomena, drawing upon a wide range of observational data primarily from the RHESSI era. Following an introductory discussion and overview of the status of observational capabilities, the article is split into topical sections which deal with different areas of flare phenomena (footpoints and ribbons, coronal sources, relationship to coronal mass ejections) and their interconnections. We also discuss flare soft X-ray spectroscopy and the energetics of the process. The emphasis is to describe the observations from multiple points of view, while bearing in mind the models that link them to each other and to theory. The present theoretical and observational understanding of solar flares is far from complete, so we conclude with a brief discussion of models, and a list of missing but important observations.

No abstract