Planetary distance law and resonance

The relation between the planetary distance law and the resonant structures in the solar system and in the satellite systems is shown, in that, the resonance relation has been expressed in terms of Roche’s (Bode’s) constant defined in the text. This brings forth a coherent, elegant and unified picture of the formation and structure of the solar system and the satellite systems. The Roche’s (Bode’s) constant is seen to play a central role in this unified picture, in that, it also appears to govern the resonance phenomenon in the systems     

Study of a neutral hydrogen feature previously observed by Cugnon

An anomalous velocity cloud nearl=349°,b=+3°, was investigated by Cugnon (1968). The authors made a new set of observations in order to obtain a more complete picture of the feature, including the region originally out of Cugnon's limit of observation. A comparison with optical and radio observations was made and several possibilities of interpretation as to the nature of the object were analyzed.     

Highly perturbed periodic oscillations around a small primary

A global picture of the families of simple periodic orbits in terms of their characteristics is given in the part of the plane (γ, ξ₁) of representation near the singularity corresponding to the small primary, for the case of the restricted problem with a small value of the mass parameter μ. The value used for μ is smaller than the critical value of Routh. The picture is found to be qualitatively different from the one corresponding to μ larger than the critical value. By means of the stability parameters four new families, consisting of asymmetric periodic orbits, are shown to exist as bifurcations of families of symmetric periodic orbits.     

The relationship between meridional drift and rotation of the large-scale solar magnetic field

The pattern of torsional oscillations was detected in the rotation of the large-scale magnetic field using the method of two-dimensional correlation functions. The position of areas of fast and slow rotation agrees with the Doppler picture obtained by Ulrich et al. (1988). The torsional wave amplitude is 20–40 ms^–1 and increases with latitude. A strong correlation of the pattern of residual E-W rate with the meridional drift pattern, obtained from the same data, was determined. The sign of correlation is consistent with the results reported by Ward (1965).     

Meridional drift in the large-scale solar magnetic field pattern

A method of two-dimensional correlation functions has been applied to a sequence of synoptic maps of the large-scale magnetic field to obtain the meridional drift pattern of field structures. The meridional drift profile obtained is antisymmetric about the equator. The meridional drift is directed from the equator to the poles at latitudes below 45°. A maximum drift velocity of 11–13 m s^–1 is attained in the latitude range 30°. A picture of the space-time distribution of meridional drift is also obtained, which may be interpreted as resulting from the effect of azimuthal convective rolls (3 rolls per hemisphere) on the large-scale magnetic field. Rolls originate at high latitudes following the cycle maximum, and migrate equatorwards until the minimum of the next cycle. The picture in the equatorial region can correspond to convective rolls with lifetimes of about two years, or to the process of interaction of rolls from two hemispheres.     

On the Nature and Genesis of EUV Waves: A Synthesis of Observations from SOHO, STEREO, SDO, and Hinode (Invited Review)

A major, albeit serendipitous, discovery of the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory mission was the observation by the Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope (EIT) of large-scale extreme ultraviolet (EUV) intensity fronts propagating over a significant fraction of the Sun??s surface. These so-called EIT or EUV waves are associated with eruptive phenomena and have been studied intensely. However, their wave nature has been challenged by non-wave (or pseudo-wave) interpretations and the subject remains under debate. A string of recent solar missions has provided a wealth of detailed EUV observations of these waves bringing us closer to resolving the question of their nature. With this review, we gather the current state-of-the-art knowledge in the field and synthesize it into a picture of an EUV wave driven by the lateral expansion of the CME. This picture can account for both wave and pseudo-wave interpretations of the observations, thus resolving the controversy over the nature of EUV waves to a large degree but not completely. We close with a discussion on several remaining open questions in the field of EUV waves research.     

Evidence of two-stage magnetic reconnection in the 2005 January 15 X2.6 flare

We analyze in detail the X2.6 flare that occurred on 2005 January 15 in the NOAA AR 10720 using multiwavelength observations. There are several interesting properties of the flare that reveal possible two-stage magnetic reconnection similar to that in the physical picture of tether-cutting, where the magnetic fields of two separate loop systems reconnect at the flare core region, and subsequently a large flux rope forms, erupts, and breaks open the overlying arcade fields. The observed manifestations include: (1) remote Hα brightenings appear minutes before the main phase of the flare; (2) separation of the flare ribbons has a slow and a fast phase, and the flare hard X-ray emission appears in the later fast phase; (3) rapid transverse field enhancement near the magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) is found to be associated with the flare. We conclude that the flare occurrence fits the tether-cutting reconnection picture in a special way, in which there are three flare ribbons outlining the sigmoid configuration. We also discuss this event in the context of what was predicted by Hudson et al. (2008), where the Lorentz force near the flaring PIL drops after the flare and consequently the magnetic field lines there turn to be more horizontal as we observed.     

Large-Scale Activity in the Bastille Day 2000 Solar Event

We have analyzed dimmings, i.e., regions of temporarily reduced brightness, and manifestations of a coronal wave in the famous event of 14 July 2000 using images produced with the EUV telescope SOHO/EIT. Our analysis was inspired by a paper by Andrews (2001, Solar Phys. 204, 181 (Paper I)), in which this event was studied using running-difference EIT images at 195 Å formed by subtraction of a previous image from each current one. Such images emphasize changes of the brightness, location, and configuration of observed structures occurring during the 12-min interval between two subsequent heliograms. However, they distort the picture of large-scale disturbances caused by a CME, particularly, dimmings. A real picture of dimmings can be obtained from fixed-base difference ‘de-rotated’ images. The latter are formed in two stages: first, the solar rotation is compensated using three-dimensional rotation of all images (‘de-rotation’) to the time of a pre-event heliogram, here 10:00 UT, and then the base heliogram is subtracted from all others. We show real dimmings to be essentially different from those described by Andrews (Paper I). The restructuring of large-scale magnetic fields in the corona in connection with the CME was accompanied by the appearance and growth of two large dimmings. One of them was located along the central meridian, southward of the eruption center, at the place of the pre-eruption arcade. Another dimming occupied the space between the flare region and a remote western active region. Several smaller dimmings were observed virtually over the whole solar disk, especially, within the northwest quadrant. We have also revealed a propagating disturbance with properties of a coronal wave in the northern polar sector, where no dimmings were observed. This fact is discussed in the context of probable association between dimmings and coronal waves. Having suppressed the ‘snowstorm’ produced in the EIT images by energetic particles, we have considered dimming manifestations in all four EIT pass bands of 171, 195, 284, and 304 Å as well as the light curves of the main dimmings including several later images at 195 Å. Our analysis shows that the major cause of the dimmings was density depletion that reached up to 30% in this event. The picture of dimmings implies that the CME in the Bastille Day event was an octopus-like bundle of some magnetic ropes, with the ‘arms’ being connected to several active regions disposed over almost the whole visible solar surface.     

Spiral Structure as a Recurrent Instability

A long-standing controversy in studies of spiral structure has concerned the lifetimes of individual spiral patterns. Much theoretical work has sought quasi-stationary spiral modes while N-body simulations have consistently displayed recurrent, short-lived patterns. The simulations manifest a recurrent cycle of true instabilities related to small-scale features in the angular momentum distribution of particles, with the decay of each instability seeding the growth of the next. Data from the recent Hipparcos mission seem to offer support for the recurrent transient picture. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Massive stars and the intergalactic medium

We review the results of an X-ray (ASCA) survey of intergalactic medium metallicities in 33 groups and clusters of galaxies. The observed picture could be explained either by adopting top heavy IMF for galaxies observed at high environment overdensities or by metal-rich SN II driven winds.     

Cover

Artist's impression of activities at an Iron Age settlement: in the right foreground men can be seen storing grain in a pit. The 2350 years old Danebury meteorite was recovered, but not instantly recognized as extraterrestrial, from such a pit during archaeological excavations of Danebury Hill, an Iron Age fort in Hampshire, England, in 1974. For details, see the article by Pillinger et al. pp. 946–957. Cover picture courtesy of Hampshire County Council.     

The population of faint transients in the Galactic Centre

BeppoSAX has detected a population of faint transient X-ray sources in the Galactic Centre. I show that a simple irradiated disc picture gives a consistent fit to the properties of this population, and that it probably consists of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) that have evolved beyond their minimum orbital periods of ∼80 min. Since all post-minimum systems are transient, and neutron star LMXBs are more common than black hole LMXBs in the Galaxy, the majority of these systems should contain neutron stars, as observed. This picture predicts that the Galactic Centre transients should have orbital periods in the range ∼80–120 min, and that most of them should repeat in the next few years. In this case, the total number of post-minimum transients in the Galaxy would be considerably smaller than the usual estimates of its total LMXB population. I discuss possible reasons for this.     

Dynamic behaviour of the K-corona above a type I radio source

Coronagraph images can be greatly enhanced by subtracting from the brightness of each picture point, the running median brightness over a square surrounding each picture point. The application of this technique to coronal analysis appears to be new. After such enhancement, images recorded by the SMM Coronagraph/Polarimeter reveal a coronal transient with previously undescribed characteristics. The transient began with bright ejecta moving up pre-existing rays and weaker, more diffuse, mass injection in the area between rays. At the sudden onset of this mass ejection the rays began to move apart from one another: during the ensuing 22 hr the separation of one pair of rays increased by 37° of latitude. Towards the end of the event these moving rays looked much like the legs of previously described loop transients. A type I radio source lay close to the centre of symmetry of the transient.     

Physical properties of solar chromospheric plages

We propose chromospheric models of plages to explain profiles of the Ca ii H, K, λl8498, λ8542, and λ8662 lines described in Paper I. These models are consistent with boundary conditions imposed by the photosphere and the Lyman continuum. We find that increasing emission in these lines is consistent with a picture of increasing temperature gradient in the low chromosphere and the resulting increase in pressure and electron density at similar line optical depths. With this picture we suggest how to empirically determine the distribution of chromospheric parameters across the solar disk directly from Ca ii filtergrams. We also propose that the high density aspects of solar activity are produced by steep temperature gradients in the low chromosphere and thus by the enhanced heating mechanisms that steepen these gradients.     

Microwave,Optical, EUV,and Hard X-Ray Signature of Possible Coronal Loop Interaction

In this paper, we present a comprehensive picture for the M2.0 class flare of September 9, 2002 with an extensive multi-wavelength analysis. The flare was observed by the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), the Owens Valley Solar Arrays (OVSA), and Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO). At BBSO, the observation was specially made at the wavelength of H_α ? 1.3 Å with a cadence of ～40 ms. For this multi-kernel flare, we find two pairs of conjugate kernels. Each pair has its centroid separation curve, which is well correlated with its own optical light curve. This clearly indicates two separate energy releasing sites. The proposed picture of the two energy release sites is supported by double peaks in microwave profiles, and, especially, the presence of two different 195 Å flaring loops observed by the Extreme UV Imaging Telescope (EIT) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Nevertheless, the two pairs surely have some intrinsic relations, which are indicated from both temporal and spatial correlations. Because of the intimate relationship, we propose that the two loop systems were interacting during the flare. In addition, one of the most pronounced features of this multi-kernel flare is that the results from microwaves are poorly correlated with those from hard X-ray (HXR) and optical data. The discrepancy is shown in two aspects: time profiles as well as emission locations. We still cannot understand the cause of the discrepancy, except that the interacting loops may have complicated the situation.     

The binary population in OB associations

I describe the outlines of a project aimed at characterising the binary population in the nearby OB Associations. The goal is to obtain an accurate picture of the ‘primordial§ binary population, thus allowing firm constraints to be set on our understanding of the process of star and cluster formation.     

Surface distribution of dark clouds in M31 absorption gradient along the major axis,I

The distribution of dust clouds in M31 was studied based on a photocopy of this galaxy taken from Hubble'sAtlas. The picture was divided into strips starting from the center of the galaxy on both sides along the major and the minor axis, respectively. The number of dark clouds per square kiloparsec was estimated as a function of the distance from the center of the galaxy along the major axis. If we assume the validity of the standard cloud model in M31, the filling factor introduced by the model was found to vary with distance from the center. It was found furthermore, that the filling factor introduced by the model may be an upper limit. The counts of dark clouds indicate a periodical change in the absorption gradient along the major axis with a very slight systematic variation assumed by the exponential part of the representation.     

Comparison of Velocity Fields of the Galaxies From the Catalogs RFGC and MarkIII

A distribution of matter up to 100 h ^-1 Mpc could be obtained from the large-scale galaxy peculiar motions. The best picture of such motion is given for today by two galaxy catalogs, namely MarkIII and RFGC. We compare their velocity fields and show they are very similar and have not only practically the same multipole structure but also a corresponding small-scale motions . We estimate a mean radial component of this small-scale motion as 500–700 kms. An additional comparison of distances to common galaxies is made. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.