NOAA AR 8210: Evolution and flares from multiband diagnostics

NOAA 8210 has been a region showing a remarkable level of activity well before solar maximum. Dominated by a large, rapidly rotating ? spot, it produced several intense flares during its disk passage at the end of April-beginning of May 1998. We examine the development of AR 8210 in H? and white light (WL) and study the evolution of its complex magnetic topology. While the other principal flares are briefly reviewed, the great X1.1/3B flare of 2 May, which was observed at Kanzelhöhe Solar Observatory during a SOHO/UVCS ground support campaign, is studied in detail. This event has been documented in full-disk H? and Na-D intensitygrams, Dopplergrams, and magnetograms, with a time cadence of one minute each. The flare was associated with a CME and produced significant geomagnetic effects. Furthermore, we point out the perspectives for our planned Flare Monitoring and Alerting System, since the two new instruments (Magneto-Optical Filter and Digital H? camera), which made their first operational run with the campaign, are crucial components for this program.