What’s summer without a double-dose of sun? With so many amazing discoveries happening in solar physics this summer, we had to bring you more! This episode features two experts in stellar flares on our sun and other stars. They’ll tell us what these flares mean for not only the stars but also the planets orbiting around them. Planets like Earth!

Dr. Adam Kowalski has been at CU since 2016, when he joined the National Solar Observatory and the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences as an Assistant Professor. His research interests lie in solar and stellar astrophysics with a specialization in spectroscopy of optical and ultraviolet emission in stellar flares. He uses state-of-the-art modeling codes combined with analysis of data from ground and space-based observatories (such as Hubble, IRIS, and the APO ARC 3.5m) to understand how the lower, dense stellar atmosphere (chromosphere and photosphere) is heated in response to the sudden release of magnetic energy during flares. He is also interested in developing new media for the dissemination of scientific results to the public and in establishing collaborations across disciplines.

Dr. Maria Kazachenko is an assistant professor at CU Boulder and works in solar astrophysics. Her research interests range from the storage of magnetic energy in solar active regions, to the release of that energy in solar flares with an emphasis of comparison and integration of observations with simulations. Understanding how this energy is stored and released is necessary to predict solar eruptions and hence the space weather. She is also involved in the development of the Critical Science Plan for The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the largest 4-meter solar telescope in the world, which had its first light in December 2019 revealing stunning mega-close up images of the Sun's surface. She has received the NASA Early Career Fellowship, the NSF CAREER award, and the Robert Bartnik Fellowship.