Computation of Magnetic Field Energy in Active Regions of the Sun and Prediction of Solar Flares

This paper examines a new method of computing potential magnetic fields of active regions on the Sun's surface, using the Green’s function solution of Laplace equation. Paper comes along with a set of programs that export data from HMI/SDO (Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager / Solar Dynamics Observatory) and MDI/SOHO (Michelson Doppler Imager / Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) magnetograms and: return full 3D cubes of computed magnetic field, estimated energy in an external region above the surface and reconstructed magnetic field lines. The precision of methods is analysed using model dipole fields. Along with the created method, the energies are estimated for several real solar active regions - 11158, 11675, 12673 and their time dependency starting from their formation as they approach the western end of the Sun's disk. The magnetic energy values for these active regions are generally consistent with published data that was calculated using different extrapolation methods.