A comparison of He ii 304 Å and He i 10 830 Å spectroheliograms

Spectroheliograms were obtained simultaneously in the He ii 304 Å emission line and the He i 10 830 Å absorption line with an angular resolution of approximately 5″. A negative print of the 304 Å image is matched with a positive print of the 10 830 Å image so that corresponding features of the chromospheric network (including active regions) appear identical in the two images. Differences between these images include the facts that:

1. Disk filaments and limb darkening are strongly visible in the 10 830 Å positive image, but they are weakly visible (as lightenings) in the 304 Å negative image.
2. The contrast between the chromospheric network and the network cell centers is much greater in the 10 830 Å image than in the 304 Å negative image.

These results provide constraints on models of helium line formation in various types of solar features.     

Automated Coronal-Loop Detection based on Contour Extraction and Contour Classification from the SOHO/EIT Images

Arch-shaped coronal loops that are isolated from the background are typically acquired manually from massive online image databases to be used in solar coronal research. The manual search for special coronal loops is not only subject to human mistakes but is also time consuming and tedious. In this study, we propose a completely automated image-retrieval system that identifies coronal-loop regions located outside of the solar disk from 17.1 nm EIT images. To achieve this aim, we first apply image-preprocessing techniques to bring out loop structures from their background and to reduce the effect of undesired patterns. Then we extract principal contours from the solar image regions. The geometrical attributes of the extracted principal contours reveal the existence of loops in a given region. Our completely automated decision-making procedure gives promising results in separating the regions with loops from the regions without loops. Based on our loop-detection procedure, we have developed an automated image-retrieval tool that is capable of retrieving images containing loops from a collection of solar images.     

Active region EUV transient brightenings – First Results by EIT of SOHO JOP 80

On 13 May 1998, the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT, on board SOHO) has produced a unique image sequence operating in 'shutterless mode' (SOHO JOP 80). In JOP 80, EIT is the lead instrument, followed by several space-born instruments (SXT, TRACE, MDI, CDS, SUMER), as well as two observatories on the ground (in La Palma and Sac Peak). The target of the campaign was a relatively small but rapidly evolving active region (AR 8218). For the EIT contribution, a 15 s cadence was achieved in the Fexii bandpass at 195 Å by leaving EIT's shutter open for 1 h and operating the CCD in frame-transfer mode. In this paper, we start the analysis of the huge data set, by making an inventory of the transients observed in the EIT image sequence. Besides scatter plots of duration, size and radiative output of the detected EUV brightenings, we discuss in full detail the morphology and evolution of several typical events. These transients range from a B3.5 flare producing a large plasma flow along pre-existing loops, to EUV versions of active region transient brightenings as previously observed by SXT on board Yohkoh. In addition, a new class of weaker footpoint brightenings is discussed that produce wave-like disturbances propagating along quasi-open field lines. This new class of propagating disturbances extends the wide variety of transient phenomena that we discovered in the EIT data, and makes the potential for inter-instrumental studies of the JOP 80 data all the more exciting. We stress the necessity of such forthcoming studies to reach an instrument-independent classification of small-scale solar transients.     

Investigation of Long-Period Oscillations of Sunspots with Ground-Based (Pulkovo) and SOHO/MDI Data

We applied special data-processing algorithms to the study of long-period oscillations of the magnetic-field strength and the line-of-sight velocity in sunspots. The oscillations were investigated with two independent groups of data. First, we used an eight-hour-long series of solar spectrograms, obtained with the solar telescope at the Pulkovo Observatory. We simultaneously measured Doppler shifts of six spectral lines, formed at different heights in the atmosphere. Second, we had a long time series of full-disk magnetograms (10 – 34 hour) from SOHO/MDI for the line-of-sight magnetic-field component. Both ground- and space-based observations revealed long-period modes of oscillations (40 – 45, 60 – 80, and 160 – 180 minutes) in the power spectrum of the sunspots and surrounding magnetic structures. With the SOHO/MDI data, one can study the longer periodicities. We obtained two new significant periods (> 3σ) in the power spectra of sunspots: around 250 and 480 minutes. The power of the oscillations in the lower frequencies is always higher than in the higher ones. The amplitude of the long-period magnetic-field modes shows magnitudes of about 200 – 250 G. The amplitude of the line-of-sight velocity periodicities is about 60 – 110 m s⁻¹. The absence of low-frequency oscillations in the telluric line proves their solar nature. Moreover, the absence of low-frequency oscillations of the line-of-sight velocity in the quiet photosphere (free of magnetic elements) proves their direct connection to magnetic structures. Long-period modes of oscillation observed in magnetic elements surrounding the sunspot are spread over the meso-granulation scales (10″ – 12″), while the sunspot itself oscillates as a whole. The amplitude of the long-period mode of the line-of-sight velocity in a sunspot decreases rapidly with height: these oscillations are clearly visible in the spectral lines originating at heights of approximately 200 km and fade away in lines originating at 500 km. We found a new interesting property: the low-frequency oscillations of a sunspot are strongly reduced when there is a steady temporal trend (strengthening or weakening) of the sunspot’s magnetic field. Another important result is that the frequency of long-period oscillations evidently depends on the sunspot’s magnetic-field strength.     

Observed and theoretical profiles of the Si ii lines at λ1814

Emission line spectra observed at the limb of the solar disc are presented for transitions of singly ionized silicon at 1816.93, 1817.45 and 1808.01. The profiles show self-reversals in the line cores. A non-LTE analysis for a simplified model of the silicon ion is presented and calculated line profiles are compared with the observations. The study indicates that some modification of the Vernazza et al. (1973) model of the solar chromosphere in the transition region is needed to reconcile the calculated and observed profiles.     

Latitudinal and Solar-Cycle Variations of the White-Light Corona from SOHO/LASCO Observations

SOHO/LASCO data were used to obtain the latitudinal and radial distributions of the brightness of the K- and F-corona in the period of 1996 – 2007, and their solar-cycle variations were studied. Then an inversion method was employed to obtain the radial distributions of the electron density N _e(R,θ) for various latitude values on the coronal images. Our values of N _e(R,θ) are in good agreement with the findings of other authors. We found that in an edge-on streamer belt the electron density, like the K-corona brightness, varies with distance more slowly in the near-equatorial rays than in near-polar regions. We have developed a method for assessing the maximum values of the electron density at the center of the face-on streamer belt in its bright rays and depressions between them. Not all bright rays observed in the face-on streamer belt are found to be associated with an increased electron density in them. Mechanisms for forming such rays have been suggested.     

Rotational excitation of aluminium monofluoride (AlF) by?He?atom at low temperature

We report on the calculation of collision induced rotational excitation cross sections and rate coefficients of AlF by He atom at low temperature. These quantities were obtained by first computing the interaction potential energy surface (PES) of the AlF(X  ¹Σ⁺)-He(¹ S) van der Waals complex at the ab initio Coupled Cluster with Single and Double and perturbative Triple excitations [CCSD(T)] level of theory. The aug-cc-pVQZ Gaussian basis, to which was added a set of bond functions, was used for that purpose. The calculations account for basis set superposition errors (BSSE). The interaction potential presents a minimum of ∼24 cm⁻¹ below the AlF-He dissociation limit. The PES was fitted on a basis of Legendre polynomial functions to allow for the calculation of cross sections in the close-coupling (CC) approach. By averaging these cross sections over a Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution, rate coefficients were inferred at low temperatures (T≤300 K). From our computations, a propensity towards ΔJ=1 transitions is observed.     

A Change in the Solar He ii EUV Global Network Structure as an Indicator of the Geo-Effectiveness of Solar Minima

Solar activity during 2007?–?2009 was very low, causing anomalously low thermospheric density. A comparison of solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance in the He?ii spectral band (26 to 34 nm) from the Solar Extreme ultraviolet Monitor (SEM), one of instruments on the Charge Element and Isotope Analysis System (CELIAS) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) for the two latest solar minima showed a decrease of the absolute irradiance of about 15±6 % during the solar minimum between Cycles 23 and 24 compared with the Cycle 22/23 minimum when a yearly running-mean filter was used. We found that some local, shorter-term minima including those with the same absolute EUV flux in the SEM spectral band show a higher concentration of spatial power in the global network structure from the 30.4 nm SOHO/Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) images for the local minimum of 1996 compared with the minima of 2008?–?2011. We interpret this higher concentration of spatial power in the transition region’s global network structure as a larger number of larger-area features on the solar disk. These changes in the global network structure during solar minima may characterize, in part, the geo-effectiveness of the solar He?ii EUV irradiance in addition to the estimations based on its absolute levels.     

The Wings of Ca?ii H and K as Photospheric Diagnostics and the Reliability of One-Dimensional Photosphere Modeling

The extended wings of the Ca?ii H and K lines provide excellent diagnostics of the temperature stratification of the photosphere of the Sun and of other cool stars, thanks to their LTE opacities and source functions and their large span in formation height. The aim of this study is to calibrate the usage of the H and K wings in a one-dimensional interpretation of spatially averaged spectra and in deriving per-pixel stratifications from resolved spectra. I use multi-dimensional simulations of solar convection to synthesize the H and K wings, derive one-dimensional models from these wings as if they were observed, and compare the resulting models to the actual simulation input. I find that spatially averaged models constructed from the synthesized wings generally match the simulation averages well, except for the deepest layers of the photosphere where large thermal inhomogeneities and Planck-function non-linearity gives large errors. The larger the inhomogeneity, the larger the error. The presence of strong network fields increases such inhomogeneity. For quiet photospheric conditions the temperature excesses reach about 200?K. One-dimensional stratification fits of discrete structures such as granulation and small-scale magnetic concentrations give satisfactory results with errors that are primarily due to steep temperature gradients and abrupt changes of temperature with depth. I conclude that stratification modeling using the H and K wings is a useful technique for the interpretation of solar high-resolution observations.     

10-µm images and spectra of T Tauri stars

T Tauri stars are young stars usually surrounded by dusty disks similar to the one from which we believe our own Solar System formed. Most T Tauri stars exhibit a broad emission or absorption band between 7.5 and 13.5µm which is attributed to silicate grains in the circumstellar environment. We imaged three spatially resolved T Tauri binaries through a set of broadband filters which include the spectral region occupied by the silicate band. Two of these objects (T Tauri and Haro 6–10) are infrared companion systems in which one component is optically much fainter but contributes strongly in the infrared. Both infrared companions exhibit a deep silicate absorption which is not present in their primaries, indicating that they suffer very strong local extinction which may be due to an edge-on circumstellar disk or to a dense shell. We also took low resolution spectra of the silicate feature of two unresolved T Tauris to look for narrow features in the silicate band which would indicate the presence of specific minerals such as olivine. We observed GK Tau, for which Cohen and Witteborn (1985) reported a narrow emission feature at 9.7µm, but do not find evidence for this feature, and conclude that it is either time-dependent or an artifact of absorption by telluric ozone.Paper presented at the Conference onPlanetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection held 7–10 December, 1992 at CalTech, Pasadena, California, U.S.A.     

CME Projection Effects Studied with STEREO/COR and SOHO/LASCO

Based on a set of 11 CME events we study the impact of projection effects by tracking CME leading edge features in the plane of sky (traditional CME tracking) from combined STEREO-SECCHI and SOHO-LASCO observations up to 20R _⊙. By using CME observations from two vantage points and applying triangulation techniques, the source region location of the CME on the solar surface was determined (heliospheric longitude and latitude) to correct for projection effects. With this information, the directivity and “true” speed of a CME can be estimated in a simple way. The comparison of the results obtained from the spacecraft pairs SOHO-LASCO/STEREO-A and SOHO-LASCO/STEREO-B allows us to study the reliability of the method. The determined CME source region is generally coincident within ?10°.     

Correlation of He II lyman alpha with He I 10830 Å, and with chromospheric and EUV coronal emission

This paper describes the results of comparing SERTS-3 images obtained in the transition region line of Heii 304 with chromospheric Hei 10830 absorption, with strong coronal lines of Mgix 368 , Fexv 284 and 417 , and Fexvi 335 and 31 , with H, with Caii 8542 , and with magnetograms in Fei 8688H. All of the images are illustrated, and the image reconstruction techniques used are described and evaluated. The high correlation of the Heii 304 and Hei 10830 images, originally found by Harvey and Sheeley (1977), is confirmed and is put on a quantitative basis. We find that the supergranulation network has greater contrast, and that filaments appear darker, in 10830 than in 304 . In active regions, the 304 line follows more closely the behavior of H and Caii 8542 than the 10830 line.     

Structure and Evolution of the Transition Region Network Observed in he ii λ304

The length scale and life time of the transition region network cells were studied using Heii 304 filtergrams. The temporal structure function was calculated from spatially aligned Heii 304 images. The estimated life time of the network cell was about 27 hr. We compared this life time with the life time of photospheric magnetic network and of the extrapolated magnetic network. The spatial structure function was calculated from the Heii 304 filtergrams. The calculated spatial structure function saturates at 25000 km. The transition region network elements are bigger in size than the photospheric magnetic network element. The magnetic network element equals the size of the Heii 304 network element when the photospheric magnetic field is extrapolated to a height of 3000 km above the photosphere where the magnetic fluxes are deployed. The derived value of the diffusion speed of the network elements was 0.098 km s^–1.     

An analysis of photospheric vector magnetograms, Hα images and soft X-ray images in a superactive region NOAA 7321

Based on the photospheric vector magnetograms taken at Huairou Solar Observing Station (HSOS), H images taken at Hiraiso Solar Terrestrial Research Center of Communication Research Laboratory, soft X-ray images taken by Yohkoh and an extrapolation method, the magnetic field structures and some active phenomena of the active region AR 7321 around 04:12 UT on 27 October 1992 are analyzed in this paper. A divergence of the transverse magnetic field, located at a newly formed spot, was found. At least four highly sheared magnetic field systems separately spread from this divergence to four other sites around this divergence. Vertical current concentrations are upward in this region and downward in the other four sites, and the corresponding H bright patches and soft X-ray bright loops coincide with these structures, confirming the existence of these four systems. The extrapolated magnetic force lines reconstructed by the Boundary Element Method (BEM), force-free field assumption, and boundary condition of observed photospheric vector magnetic field, coincide in space with the H bright patches and soft X-ray bright loops, showing that this extrapolation method is very effective and suggesting that the H bright patches and soft X-ray bright loops in this case represent the magnetic field structures in the upper atmosphere of the Sun.The bright structures in the H images and the soft X-ray images have a close correlation with the non-potential characteristics of the magnetic fields.     

The center-to-limb behavior of Ca i λ6573 and [Ca ii] λ7324

Center-to-limb measurements of the Ca i 6573 intercombination line and the Ca ii 7324 forbidden line are compared with synthetic profiles based on a simple representation of the non-LTE Ca-Ca⁺ ionization equilibrium. The effects of photoionizations from low lying excited states of neutral calcium are found to reduce the sensitivity of the 6573 center-to-limb behavior as a thermal structure diagnostic. The synthetic center-to-limb behavior is also sensitive to uncertainties in the nonthermal broadening. Nevertheless, the measured center-to-limb behavior of 6573 favors a cool photospheric model similar to the Vernazza, Avrett, and Loeser model M over hotter models based on the Ca ii K wings. The non-LTE calcium abundance obtained from the disk center equivalent widths of 6573 and 7324 using the best fit model is A _Ca2.1±0.2 × 10^-6 (by number relative to hydrogen). Applications of these lines as diagnostics of the Ca-Ca⁺ ionization equilibrium in other stars are briefly discussed.Visiting Astronomer, Kitt Peak National Observatory.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Comparison of Prominences in Hα and He II 304 Å

In this letter, we bring attention to prominences which show different morphology in H and Heii 304 Å, as observed simultaneously by BBSO and EIT on board SOHO. Those two lines have been thought to represent similar chromospheric structures although they are formed at significantly different temperatures. We give two examples representing two kinds of anomaly: (1) prominences showing strong H emissions in the lower part and strong Heii emissions in the upper part, and (2) erupting prominences showing extensive Heii emission, but nothing in H. Our results indicate that a part or the whole of a prominence may be too hot to emit H radiation, possibly due to heating or thermal instability. Please note that these are not just two isolated cases, many other prominences show the similar differences in H and Heii 304 Å.     

Can mass loss and overshooting prevent the excitation of g-modes in blue supergiants?

Thanks to their past history on the main-sequence phase, supergiant massive stars develop a convective shell around the helium core. This intermediate convective zone (ICZ) plays an essential role in governing which g-modes are excited. Indeed, a strong radiative damping occurs in the high-density radiative core but the ICZ acts as a barrier preventing the propagation of some g-modes into the core. These g-modes can thus be excited in supergiant stars by the κ-mechanism in the superficial layers due to the opacity bump of iron, at  log  T = 5.2  . However, massive stars are submitted to various complex phenomena such as rotation, magnetic fields, semiconvection, mass loss, overshooting. Each of these phenomena exerts a significant effect on the evolution and some of them could prevent the onset of the convective zone. We develop a numerical method which allows us to select the reflected, thus the potentially excited, modes only. We study different cases in order to show that mass loss and overshooting, in a large enough amount, reduce the extent of the ICZ and are unfavourable to the excitation of g-modes.     

Height-to-diameter ratios of moon rocks from analysis of Lunokhod-1 and -2 and Apollo 11–17 panoramas and LROC NAC images

An analysis is performed of 91 panoramic photographs taken by Lunokhod-1 and -2, 17 panoramic images composed of photographs taken by Apollo 11–15 astronauts, and six LROC NAC photographs. The results are used to measure the height-to-visible-diameter (h/d) and height-to-maximum-diameter (h/D) ratios for lunar rocks at three highland and three mare sites on the Moon. The average h/d and h/D for the six sites are found to be indistinguishable at a significance level of 95%. Therefore, our estimates for the average h/d = 0.6 ± 0.03 and h/D = 0.54 ± 0.03 on the basis of 445 rocks are applicable for the entire Moon’s surface. Rounding off, an h/D ratio of ≈0.5 is suggested for engineering models of the lunar surface. The ratios between the long, medium, and short axes of the lunar rocks are found to be similar to those obtained in high-velocity impact experiments for different materials. It is concluded, therefore, that the degree of penetration of the studied lunar rocks into the regolith is negligible, and micrometeorite abrasion and other factors do not dominate in the evolution of the shape of lunar rocks.     

CorPITA: An Automated Algorithm for the Identification and Analysis of Coronal “EIT Waves”

The continuous stream of data available from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) telescopes onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft has allowed a deeper understanding of the Sun. However, the sheer volume of data has necessitated the development of automated techniques to identify and analyse various phenomena. In this article, we describe the Coronal Pulse Identification and Tracking Algorithm (CorPITA) for the identification and analysis of coronal “EIT waves”. CorPITA uses an intensity-profile technique to identify the propagating pulse, tracking it throughout its evolution before returning estimates of its kinematics. The algorithm is applied here to a data set from February 2011, allowing its capabilities to be examined and critiqued. This algorithm forms part of the SDO Feature Finding Team initiative and will be implemented as part of the Heliophysics Event Knowledgebase (HEK). This is the first fully automated algorithm to identify and track the propagating “EIT wave” rather than any associated phenomenon and will allow a deeper understanding of this controversial phenomenon.