Multi-wavelength observations of the 1998 September 27 flare spray

We report on observations of a large eruptive event associated with a flare that occurred on 27 September 1998 made with the Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope at Sacramento Peak Observatory (several wave bands including off-line-center H), in soft and hard X-rays (GOES and BATSE), and in several TRACE wave bands (including Feix/x 171 Å, Fexii 195 Å, and Civ 1550 Å). The flare initiation is signaled by two H foot-point brightenings which are closely followed by a hard X-ray burst and a subsequent gradual increase in other wavelengths. The flare light curves show a complicated, three-component structure which includes two minor maxima before the main GOES class C5.2 peak after which there is a characteristic exponential decline. During the initial stages, a large spray event is observed within seconds of the hard X-ray burst which can be directly associated with a two-ribbon flare in H. The emission returns to pre-flare levels after about 35 min, by which time a set of bright post-flare loops have begun to form at temperatures of about 1.0–1.5 MK. Part of the flare plasma also intrudes into the penumbra of a large sunspot, generally a characteristic of very powerful flares, but the flare importance in GOES soft X-rays is in fact relatively modest. Much of the energy appears to be in the form of a second ejection which is observed in optical and ultraviolet bands, traveling out via several magnetic flux tubes from the main flare site (about 60° from Sun center) to beyond the limb.     

Observations of 1000 km s −1 Doppler shifts in 107 K solar flare supra-arcade

An X1.5 flare on the west limb of the Sun on 21 April 2002 developed a large supra-arcade about 30 min after flare onset. The growth of the supra-arcade can be followed in both TRACE 195 Å images and SUMER spectra. Its growth seems to be associated with dark (in TRACE images), sunward moving channels that descend onto the arcade from above. SUMER recorded Doppler shifts of 800–1000 km s^–1 in Fexxi 1354 Å from positions where this sunward flow interacts with the arcade tops. We describe the observations, focusing on the relationship of the high Fexxi line shifts to the sunward moving dark flows.     

The Magnetic Connectivity of Moss Regions

A novel emission feature resembling moss was first identified in high-resolution TRACE Feix/x 171 Å images by Berger et al. (1999). The moss emission is characterized by dynamic arc-second scale, bright elements surrounding dark inclusions in images of solar active regions. Patches of moss elements, called moss regions, have a scale of 20–30 Mm. Moss regions occur only above some of magnetic plages that underlie soft X-ray coronal loops. Using the potential field extrapolation of the photospheric magnetic field into the corona, we find that the magnetic field lines in moss-associated magnetic plages connect with adjacent plages with opposite polarity; however, all field lines from mossless plages end in surrounding quiet regions. This result is consistent with the idea that the TRACE moss is the emission from the upper transition region due to heating of low-lying plasma by field-aligned thermal conduction from overlying hot plasma (Berger et al., 1999).     

Studies of Microflares and C5.2 flare of 27 September 1998

On 27 September 1998, Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) and Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) coordinated observations from 16:00 to 19:00 UT to study properties of microflares in AR NOAA No. 8340. Fortuitously, a C5.2 flare occurred at 16:30 UT in this active region. H and magnetograph movies were obtained at BBSO; Civ 1550 Å, Feix 171 Å, and Fexii 195 Å movies were obtained by TRACE; both with a cadence about 1 min. In this paper, we concentrate on the study of magnetic properties of 70 Civ microflares, as well as their relationship to the C5.2 flare. We obtained the following results: (1) We found two kinds of microflares: microflares of transient brightenings with a time scale of 1 to 5 min (impulsive events) and microflares lasting half an hour or longer (persistent events). Ninety percent of the microflares are impulsive events. Most of the event in this category are associated with well defined magnetic neutral lines, but some are found in non-neutral line areas. All of seven persistent events are found at parasitic magnetic configurations with inclusions of small magnetic flux within dominant magnetic flux of opposite polarity. (2) More than a third of the impulsive microflares occurred near the C5.2 flare site indicating that a local instability is responsible for both the C5.2 flare and microflares. This indirectly supports the avalanche theory of flare energy release, which implies that a big flare may be spatially associated with many small flares.     

High-resolution photography of the solar chromosphere

High-quality photographs of the solar limb and neighbouring regions of the disk at various wavelengths in the H line have been obtained through a tunable 1/8 Å filter used in tandem with a 1 Å Halle filter to eliminate parasitic light. The new observations throw further light on (a) the reappearance of the photospheric limb in the wings of H, and (b) the dark band lying immediately above the photospheric limb described by Loughhead (1969) and Nikolsky (1970). On the other hand, taken in isolation they add very little new information bearing on the question of the identification of spicules with disk structures.As a result of small temperature drifts in the 1/8 Å filter the stated wavelengths of the photographs given in Figures 1–4 may be in error by upwards of a few hundredths of an Ångström. Provision has since been made for setting accurately the zero of the wavelength scale by the method described by Bray and Winter (1970); this involves temporarily sliding the Halle filter out of the beam.     

The violet opacity in the red peculiar stars (I)

Moderate dispersion (25–35 Å mm^–1) spectra were obtained from two carbon stars, LW Cyg and Y Tau, in a wide range of wavelengths ( 3400–6800 Å) with the 6 m echellespectrometer ZEBRA and two dimensional photon-counting system. Spectral feature identification was carried out from 3800 to 6300 Å. Most of the bands are due to C₂, CN, and SiC₂, however, atomic lines of the iron peak and s-process element also are represented. LW Cyg have intense isotopic carbon bands. The wavelengths and band-intensity were estimated.     

Extreme ultraviolet flashes of solar flares observed via sudden frequency deviations: Experimental results

Properties of solar-flare EUV flashes measured via a type of ionospheric event, called a sudden frequency deviation (SFD), are presented. SFD's are sensitive to bursts of radiation in the 1–1030 Å wavelength range. He ii 303.8 Å, O v 629.7 Å, HL 972.5 Å and C iii 977.0 Å have essentially the same impulsive time dependence as the 1–1030 Å flash responsible for SFD's. Soft X-rays (2–20 Å) and certain EUV lines have a much slower time dependence than the 1–1030 Å flash. Most SFD's have some fine structure, but marked quasi-periodicity in EUV flashes is quite rare. EUV flashes are closely associated with hard X-ray bursts, white-light emission, microwave radio bursts and small bright impulsive kernels in the H flare. The intensity of EUV flashes depends on the central meridian distance of the H flare location; the intensity decreases at the limb. The total energy radiated in the 10–1030 Å flash for the largest events observed is about 10³¹ ergs.     

STUDY OF CORONAL TRANSIENTS IN UV LINE EMISSION

We investigate the expected emission from coronal transients in the following spectral lines observable with the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) on board SOHO: Hi L 1216 Å, Ovi 1032–1037 Å, Nv 1239–1243 Å, Mgx 610–625 Å, Sixii 499–521 Å, and Fexii 1242 Å. We calculate line intensities and profiles for typical CME conditions, and we analyse their relation with the properties of the perturbed coronal region. We find that significant changes in UV line intensities are produced during a coronal transient. An overall decrease of the Hi L intensity is found, which is mainly due to the Doppler dimming produced by the increase in plasma outflow velocity. The emission from heavy ions is instead mainly affected by variations in plasma density and temperature. We expect to compare these results with the future UVCS observations of coronal transients.     

The influence of spectral resolution on line blending and wavelength positions in the solar UV spectrum

For representative sections of the solar UV spectrum ( 2765 Å– 2790 Å, 2765 Å– 2805 Å) the line density and the accuracy of wavelength positions of absorption features are derived as function of the spectral resolution. In low resolution spectrograms unresolved blends may shift intrinsic wavelength positions of absorption lines by amounts up to a few tenths of the spectral resolution.The results obtained for the solar spectrum are applied to the flux spectrogram of CMi.Guest Investigator in the BUSS Program jointly performed by the Space Research Laboratory, Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the NASA L. B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, U.S.A.     

Solar flare X-ray spectra

Results are presented of an investigation of solar flare X-ray spectra in the region 1.70–1.95 Å, obtained aboard the Intercosmos-4 satellite during the maximum of solar activity (October–November, 1970). With the use of 6 high resolution spectra in the region 1.85–1.87 Å the identification of lines due to 18 transitions of 2p 1s type, consisting of the resonance, intercombination and forbidden Fe xxv ion lines and the satellite Fe xxiv lines has been performed. With the use of the recent laboratory data the averaged wavelengths of the lines were obtained confirming the theoretically calculated ones with an accuracy about ± 0.0004 Å. A variable Doppler shift of the Fe xxv resonance lines was observed for the flare of November 16, 1970, which points to hot plasma motions with velocities up to 400 km s^-1.     

Interpretation of the solar continuum from 1680 to 600 Å. Model of the transition region photosphere-chromosphere and of the chromosphere

An interpretation is given of the observations of the continuous solar radiation in the spectral range 600–1700 Å. The model allows for deviations from LTE of H, C, Si and S, and is in hydrostatic equilibrium. The predicted intensity from 1680 to 1520 Å has virtually no dependence on the electron temperature variation in the optical depth range 10^–3–4 × 10^–5, at 5000 Å; the brightness temperature is compatible with a low electronic temperature minimum near the optical depth 10^–4. The model of the low chromosphere is characterized by a steep temperature gradient. The model satisfies observations at millimeter wavelengths.     

The absorption spectrum of atmospheric water vapor in the vicinity of the He 10830 Å triplet

Wavelengths of clean atmospheric water lines, and some solar lines, in the wavelength interval 10750 Å to 10900 Å have been measured to an accuracy approaching ± 1 mÅ. Strengths and wavelengths have been measured for all atmospheric water lines with absorption coefficients > 5 × 10^–4 cm^–1 gm^–1 cm^–2 at 280K, that lie within 15 Å of the He I 10830 Å featur of the stronger He component is affected by a weak water line which reduces atmospheric transmission by nearly 1 % with 10 mm precipitable water in the line of sight.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Relation between VLF phase deviations and solar X-ray fluxes during solar flares

Sudden phase anomalies (SPA's) observed in the phase of GBR 16 kHz VLF signals during the years 1977 to 1983 have been analysed in the light of their associated solar X-ray fluxes in the 0.5–4 Å and 1–8 Å bands. An attempt has been made to investigate the solar zenith angle () dependence of the integrated solar X-ray flux for producing SPA's. It is deduced from the observations for < 81° that the phase deviation increases linearly as a whole with increasing solar X-ray fluxes in these two bands. The threshold X-ray flux needed to produce a detectable SPA effect has been estimated to be 1.6 × 10^–4 ergcm^–2 s^–1 and 1.8 × 10^–3 ergcm^–2 s^–1 in the 0.5–4 Å and 1–8 Å bands, respectively. For both bands the average cross section for all atmospheric constituents at a height of 70 km is almost equal to the absorption cross section for the 3 Å X-ray emission.     

Tracking of TRACE Ultraviolet Flare Footpoints

Solar flares produce bright, compact sources of UV emission in the lower atmosphere, identified as flare footpoints. Observed at high time cadence with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer, groups of UV footpoints define flare `ribbons' which move as the flare progresses. We have developed a procedure to track individual bright kernels within flare ribbons, enabling us to study the motion of these sites of excitation through the solar chromosphere. We have applied this to a flare observed by TRACE in the 1600 Å passband at 2-s cadence. In this event, the footpoints have an average speed of 15 km s<sup>–1</sup>, with a superposed random `meandering' component, consistent with the footpoint magnetic field being anchored around the edges of granular cells. Examining the brightness as a function of time, we find that the timing of peaks in brightness is significantly correlated with the timing of peaks in the product of the footpoint speed with the line-of-sight magnetic field strength at the footpoint location; in other words with a measure of the coronal reconnection rate.     

Localization of the source of flare X-ray emission during the eclipse of 7 March, 1970

An occultation of X-ray emission from a solar flare occurred during the eclipse of 7 March, 1970 and was observed by an NRL instrument aboard the OSO-5 satellite. Ionization chamber photometers covering the wavelength ranges 0.5–3 Å, 1–8 Å, and 8–16 Å provided flux measurements once every 15 s providing a spatial resolution of 20 arc sec at the solar surface. Within this limitation the X-ray flare was observed to be confined within a region 136 000 km in one dimension.However, the measurements indicate the existence of a denser core 54 000 km wide in the direction of advance of the Moon's limb. Comparison of these results with X-ray photographs of flare regions are made and a model for the development of the soft X-ray flare is proposed.     

Solar extreme ultraviolet emissions in the range 260–1300 Å observed from OSO-III

Solar electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths ranging from 260–1300 Å was measured by a grazing-incidence grating spectrometer on OSO-III, which operated as a monochromator with a wavelength bandwidth of about 2 Å and an acceptance angle covering the whole disk without any instrumental discrimination of source locations. The monochromator was commanded either to scan the whole spectrum or to operate at variously chosen fixed wavelengths. The latter mode of operation afforded a high-time resolution in the observation of temporal variations such as those associated with solar flares, and also allowed accurate determinations of the absorption characteristic of the earth's upper atmosphere (near sunset and sunrise).     

The transition region and coronal explorer

The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) satellite, launched 2 April 1998, is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) that images the solar photosphere, transition region and corona with unprecedented spatial resolution and temporal continuity. To provide continuous coverage of solar phenomena, TRACE is located in a sun-synchronous polar orbit. The ∼700 Mbytes of data which are collected daily are made available for unrestricted use within a few days of observation. The instrument features a 30-cm Cassegrain telescope with a field of view of 8.5×.5 arc min and a spatial resolution of 1 arc sec (0.5 arc sec pixels). TRACE contains multilayer optics and a lumogen-coated CCD detector to record three EUV wavelengths and several UV wavelengths. It observes plasmas at selected temperatures from 6000 K to 10 MK with a typical temporal resolution of less than 1 min.     

The intensity,velocity and magnetic structure of a sunspot region

A time sequence of high-resolution sunspot photographs, exposed almost simultaneously in two continuum wavelengths (4680 Å and 6400 Å), was used to study some properties of umbral fine structures (umbral dots). The lifetime of the umbral dots is found to be 1500 sec. Photometry of some bright dots leads to an observed intensity excess of 0.129 I _phot and 0.134 I _phot in the blue and red respectively. The observed mean diameter of the dots is found to be 420 km. These values still include the action of image blurring. From the color index the true intensity and diameter of the dots are estimated. It appears that the umbral dots are in reality of photospheric brightness having true diameters of 150–200 km. The spatial distribution of the dots in sunspot umbrae is discussed. Some peculiarities in recent sunspot magnetic-field observations may be explained by magnetic inhomogeneities associated with umbral dots.Presently guest investigator at the Göttingen Observatory.Previously member of the High Altitude Observatory solar project at Sacramento Peak (Contract Nr. AF (628) - 4078).     

S xi Emission Lines in Active Region Spectra Obtained with the Solar euv Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (Serts)

Theoretical electron density sensitive emission line ratios involving a total of eleven 2s ²2p ²–2s2p ³ transitions in Sxi between 187 and 292 Å are presented. A comparison of these with solar active region observations obtained during rocket flights by the Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS) reveals generally good agreement between theory and experiment. However, the 186.87 Å line is masked by fairly strong Fexii emission at the same wavelength, while 239.83 Å is blended with an unknown feature, and 285.58 Å is blended with possibly Niv 285.56 Å. In addition, the 191.23 Å line appears to be more seriously blended with an Fexiii feature than previously believed. The presence of several new Sxi lines is confirmed in the SERTS spectra, at wavelengths of 188.66, 247.14 and 291.59 Å, in excellent agreement with laboratory measurements. In particular, the detection of the 2s ²2p ^{2 3} P ₁ –2s2p ^{3 3} P _0,1 transitions at 242.91 Å is the first time (to our knowledge) that this feature has been identified in the solar spectrum. The potential usefulness of the Sxi line ratios as electron density diagnostics for the solar transition region and corona is briefly discussed.     

Solar bright points in 3840 Å and Hα

Analysis of bright features in 3840 Å and H shows that forevery Ellerman bomb (H-0.9 Å) there is a cospatial brightening in the 3840 Å network. We give properties of these bright points in both wavelengths as well as describe: (1) the appearance, and subsequent separation, of new elements in the 3840 Å network and (2) the direct transition from a 3840 Å bright point to a new sunspot.