The variation of solar brightness at the extreme solar limb at centimetre radio waves

In this note some properties of the nonconvolved brightness profile close to the extreme solar limb are described. In particular, at 6 cm and 11 cm wavelength relatively strong, narrow spikes should occur, noticeably affected by inhomogeneities (for example spicules) in the solar atmosphere.     

Balloon observations of solar ultraviolet irradiance at solar minimum

Balloon observations of solar irradiance between 200 and 240 nm have been performed in 1976 and 1977 corresponding to minimum conditions of solar activity. Ultraviolet spectra have been recorded for different zenith angles at an altitude of 41 km by means of a spectrometer with a spectral bandpass of 0.4 nm. Solar irradiances at 1 a.u. confirm previous values obtained by balloon. They are compared with other measurements and discussed in term of possible long-term variability.     

H-Alpha survey of the solar corona at Pic-du-Midi

A daily survey of cool material evolution in the inner parts of the solar corona is now performed at the Pic-du-Midi observatory with an H imaging coronagraph. The total field of the coronagraph allows the detection of emission regions all around the solar limb, up to 0.6 solar radius above the limb. This survey is devoted to the study of coronal events and mass motions in a large range of spatial and time scales. The observing modes are associated with a set of numerical treatment processes to produce images which are calibrated in intensity relative to the solar brightness. Position angles and height above the solar limb of the coronal features are determined. Methods of calibration, sky brightness subtraction, and detection of events are discussed.     

UV observations of macrospicules at the solar limb

During the Spacelab 2 mission, the NRL High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) obtained a time-series of broad-band ultraviolet images of macrospicules at the solar limb inside a polar coronal hole with a temporal resolution of 20 and 60 s. The properties of the macrospicules observed in the Spacelab data are measured and compared with the properties reported for EUV macrospicules observed during Skylab (Bohlin et al., 1975; Withbroe et al., 1976). There is a general agreement between the data sets but several differences. Because of the higher temporal resolution of the Spacelab data, it is possible to see macrospicules with shorter lifetimes than seen during Skylab, as well as variations on faster timescales. The largest (30–60) and fastest (150 km s ^-1) macrospicules seen during Skylab were not found in the Spacelab observations. The Spacelab data support the conclusion that many macrospicules decay by simply fading away.     

CCD polarimetry of the solar corona at the 1997-03-09 solar eclipse

We give the treated results of our CCD polarimetric data of the solar corona obtained during the 1997-03-09 total eclipse, including the profiles of absolute brightness and degree of polarization along 12 directions (including the two equatorial and two polar directions) in the middle corona (1.6−3.2 R_⊙)     

Slow solar wind: Sources and components of the stream structure at the solar maximum

We study the sources and components of the solar-wind spatial stream structure at the maximum of the solar cycle 23. In our analysis, we use several independent sets of experimental data: radio-astronomical observations of scattered radiation from compact sources with the determination of the distance from the Sun to the inner boundary of the transonic-flow transition region (R_in); calculated data on the magnetic-field intensity and structure in the solar corona, in the solar-wind source region, obtained from optical measurements of the photospheric magnetic-field intensity at the Stanford Solar Observatory (USA); and observations of the white-light corona with the LASCO coronograph onboard the SOHO spacecraft. We show that at the solar maximum, low-speed streams with a transition region located far from the Sun dominate in the solar-wind structure. A correlation analysis of the location of the inner boundary R_in and the source-surface magnetic-field intensity |B _R | on a sphere R=2.5R_S (R_S is the solar radius) has revealed the previously unknown lowest-speed streams, which do not fit into the regular relationship between the parameters R_in and |B _R |. In the white-light corona, the sources of these streams are located near the dark strip, a coronal region with a greatly reduced density; the nonstandard parameters of the streams probably result from the interaction of several discrete sources of different types.     

Magneto-isolated complexes at two levels of the solar atmosphere

Magneto-isolated complexes were found in the upper chromosphere from observations in the He I λ 1083 nm line. All the complexes were confidently identified in the corona from the images in the FeIX-X λ 17.1 nm line. The boundaries of the complexes at two heights are always visible in the form of channels. Their width depends on the structures that are located close to the borders inside and outside the complex. Most arch structures with one end that is located inside the complex do not cross the boundaries of the complexes (70% at the upper chromosphere and 80% of events at the corona). A total of 80% of the coronal holes that appeared in the complexes had an open structure of the magnetic field. All these facts confirm the existence of the observed magneto-isolated complexes. It is of importance that this conclusion is derived not from the calculation of the magnetic field at different heights but from observations of structures that trace the magnetic-field lines.     

Spatial structure of solar wind at a time of minimum solar activity

Interplanetary scintillation measurements of the solar wind speed in 1976 show the expected trend that higher speeds are found at higher heliographic latitudes or larger angular distances from the interplanetary current sheet deduced from coronal observations. A careful examination of variations in the speed where the current sheet departs from the equator reveals that the wind speed is not symmetrically distributed about the equator, and the minimum speed occurs at the current sheet. The variation of the speed u with the angular distance from the current sheet, λ, during 1976 is

$\text{u(λ) = 800}\text{sin}{}^{\mathrm{?2\lambda }}\text{+ 350}\text{km/s}\text{,|λ| ?35° = 600}\text{km/s}\text{, |λ| > 35°}$

.     

Observations of photospheric faculae at the center of the solar disk

Methods for the determination of the average optical depth of formation of weak Fraunhofer lines are compared, and their relative merits are discussed. Distinction should be made between the region of origin of the emergent radiation, and of the line depression. For weak or fairly weak lines the average optical depth of formation of the line depression is the relevant quantity; it should be determined by using a computational scheme based on the classical weighting functions of line formation; other methods give physically unsignificant or conflicting results.

     

Scientific observations at total solar eclipses

The occasion of the longest totality of an eclipse in the 18 yr 11^1/3 d saros cycle leads to taking stock of the scientific value of ground-based eclipse observations in this space age. Though a number of space satellites from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Russia study the Sun, scientists at eclipses can observe the solar chromosphere and corona at higher spatial resolution, at higher temporal resolution, and at higher spectral resolution than are possible aloft. Furthermore, eclipse expeditions can transport a wide variety of state-of-the-art equipment to the path of totality. Thus, for at least some years to come, solar eclipse observations will remain both scientifically valuable and cost-effective ways to study the outer solar atmosphere.     

Scientific observations at total solar eclipses

The occasion of the longest totality of an eclipse in the 18 yr 111/3 d saros cycle leads to taking stock of the scientific value of ground-based eclipse observations in this space age. Though a number of space satellites from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Russia study the Sun, scientists at eclipses can observe the solar chromosphere and corona at higher spatial resolution, at higher temporal resolution, and at higher spectral resolution than are possible aloft. Furthermore, eclipse expeditions can transport a wide variety of state-of-the-art equipment to the path of totality. Thus, for at least some years to come, solar eclipse observations will remain both scientifically valuable and cost-effective ways to study the outer solar atmosphere.     

The solar radius at 35 GHz

The solar radius at 35 GHz has been determined from solar radio maps made with a pencil beam antenna of half-power beam width 2.8 arcmin at the La Posta Astrogeophysical Observatory during 1973 and 1974. The 35 GHz radius was found to be 2.57% ±0.88% larger than the photospheric radius. The sensitivity of the result to the method of determination is discussed.     

Unusually low coronal radio emission at the solar minimum

We present two-dimensional observations of the quiet Sun at 73.8, 50.0, and 38.5 MHz obtained with the Clark Lake Radioheliograph during the sunspot minimum period of September 1986. The observed peak brightness temperatures during the entire period of sunspot minimum are found to be extremely low, lying in the range (0.6 × 10⁵ K – 2.5 × 10⁵ K). It is shown that these low values cannot be explained by the generally adopted models for N _e and T _e in a homogeneous corona. The effect of scattering by random density fluctuations is introduced in order to decrease the values of predicted T _b . The value of peak T _b is computed as a function of relative r.m.s. density fluctuations = <N _e >/N _e ; and it is found that should be in the range from 0.07 to 0.19, 0.1 to 0.25, and 0.15 to 0.35, respectively, at 38.5, 50.0, and 73.8 MHz, respectively, to explain the observed low brightness temperatures.On leave from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, India.     

Predicting the long-term solar wind ion-sputtering source at Mercury

Maps of the precipitating solar wind proton flux onto Mercury's surface are constructed using a modified Toffoletto–Hill (TH93) model of the Hermean magnetosphere. Solar wind and IMF conditions around Mercury's orbit near aphelion and perihelion, respectively, were estimated by reanalyzing the Helios 40-s data for times when the spacecraft as in Mercury's orbital range (0.31–0.47 AU). Probability density estimates obtained in this way allow us to quantitatively predict the likely range of the ion-sputtering source as a function of true anomaly angle of the planet. Results indicate that the sputtering source along open fieldlines increases fourfold from aphelion to perihelion, and that significant precipitation along closed fieldlines is twice as likely at perihelion due to finite Larmor radius effects. We conclude that ion sputtering is comparatively more important as a source for the Hermean exosphere at perihelion.     

Extension of the solar limb at sub-millimeter and millimeter wavelengths

Solar limb scanning at 5 wavelengths from 0.35 to 2 mm on the JCMT has revealed significant limb extension which increases rapidly with wavelength, in agreement with other measurements. This appears to be related to the increasing opacity of overlapping spicules which appear to become optically thick at about 1mm.     

Generation of solar type III bursts at the second harmonic

Using the data from our experiments on the IMP-6 (Explorer 43) satellite, we have examined over 200 type III bursts at kilometric wavelengths, including 16 bursts which were accompanied by >18 keV electron events with sharp onsets, in a search for the electrostatic waves which, according to theory, should be the primary source of type III bursts. No electrostatic waves of sufficient intensity to generate the type III bursts by any of the wave-wave scattering theories which produce the second harmonic of the plasma frequency, have been found.     

Excitation of high-m tearing modes at the solar flare site

It is shown that high-m drift tearing modes can be excited under the conditions prevalent at the solar flare sites. Since the growth rate of the high-m tearing modes is larger than that for low-m macroscopic tearing modes and smaller than that of microscopic ion-acoustic instability, these modes warrant accommodation in the scheme of instabilities possibly operating in the hybrid model of solar flares suggested by Spicer.