On mass flow in a complex sunspot

The velocity field in a large complex sunspot is investigated in Fe i 6302.5 Å and in H with a spatial resolution of about 2.5. The Evershed flow is almost parallel to the solar surface. For the inclination angle between the velocity and the horizontal = 4.4°±1.3° is estimated; = 11° is the definite upper limit.     

Some observational results on moustaches

The results of new observations of moustaches in H filtergrams and in H spectra are presented and their relations to photospheric and chromospheric phenomena are studied. The main findings and conclusions are: (1) previous results on basic data (size, brightness, lifetime, etc.) are essentially confirmed; (2) limb observations located the moustaches at the base of the structured H chromosphere, just above the level of the emission of H±1 Å. At the disk moustaches are, in general, covered by absorbing and slightly Doppler-shifted chromospheric elements which determine the H core in the moustache spectrum. However, absorption-free moustaches with an H emission core revealing a pure (true) moustache spectrum have also been found; (3) moustaches have been found to coincide with continuous facular granules; it is suggested that they are an extension of facular granules into the chromosphere rather than a low-level flare-like phenomenon.Mitteilung aus dem Fraunhofer Institut, No. 114.     

New observational results for the solar chromosphere

High resolution photographs of the solar chromosphere have been obtained with the 40-cm refractor of the Athens Observatory and a 0.5 Å Halle H filter. Our best photographs show a resolution of 0.6, which is comparable with the theoretical resolving limit of 0.4, at H. The achieved resolution permitted us to secure some excellent observations of the fine structure of the chromosphere on the disk as well as on the limb. The study of these observations leads to the following results: (a) the bright filaments of the disturbed chromosphere as well as the penumbral ones appear to consist of knots, (b) inside the cells of the chromospheric network of the quiet chromosphere, bright roundish granule-like formations are present, their mean size being of the order of 2500 km. (c) the bright fine mottles seem to lie at the root of the elongated dark ones, each pair of them giving rise to a spicule.     

Umbral oscillations and penumbral waves in Hα

We present examples of umbral oscillations observed on Big Bear H filtergram movies and investigate the relation between umbral oscillations and running penumbral waves occurring in the same sunspot. Umbral oscillations near the center of the umbra are probably physically independent of the penumbral waves because the period of these umbral oscillations (150 s) is shorter than the penumbral wave period (270 s) but not a harmonic. We also report dark puffs which emerge from the edge of the umbra and move outward across the penumbra, and which have the same period as the running penumbral waves. We interpret these dark puffs to be the extension of chromospheric umbral oscillations at the edge of the umbra. It is suggested that the dark puffs and the running penumbral waves have a common source: photospheric oscillations just inside the umbra.     

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.     

Study of the post-flare loops on 29 July 1973

Bright and dark curvilinear structures observed between the two major chromospheric ribbons during the flare of 29 July 1973 on films from the Big Bear Solar Observatory are interpreted as a typical system of coronal loops joining the inner boundaries of the separating flare ribbons. These observations, made through a 0.25 Å H filter, only show small segments of the loops having Doppler shifts within approximately ± 22 km s^–1 relative to the filter passband centered at H, H -0.5 Å or H +0.5 Å. However, from our knowledge of the typical behavior of such loop systems observed at the limb in H and at 5303 Å, it has been possible to reconstruct an appoximate model of the probable development of the loops of the 29 July flare as they would have been viewed at the limb relative to the position of a prominence which began to erupt a few minutes before the start of the flare. It is seen that the loops ascended through the space previously occupied by the filament. On the assumption that H fine structures parallel the magnetic field, we can conclude that a dramatic reorientation of the direction of the magnetic field in the corona occurred early in the flare, subsequent to the start of the eruption of the filament and prior to the time that the H loops ascended through the space previously occupied by the filament.     

Fine Structure of the Quiet Solar Chromosphere: Limb-Crossing Features

In this article we study chromospheric structures (spicules) crossing the solar limb in H images corrected for limb darkening. This correction enabled us to view structures both on the disk and beyond the limb in the same image. The observations were obtained at the Sacramento Peak Observatory at H±0.75 Å. The processed images reveal both bright and dark (relative to the local background) features crossing the limb. We also observed bushes (rosettes) crossing the limb, as well as structures indicating probably arch-shaped mottles beyond the limb.     

High dispersion spectroscopic study of quiescent prominences

The utility of very high dispersion spectra (5–11 mm/Å) for the study of line profile and velocity structure in quiescent prominences is demonstrated by observations, taken with the spectregraphic slit positioned normal to the limb in H 6563 Å, He D₃ 5876 Å, and Ca⁺K 3933 Å. The emission profiles of both H and the K line often show a central reversal (absorption). Emission structures in the K-line can be complex with details as narrow as 0.04 Å. Frequently this structure consists of two distinct components: a central, strong, rather narrow line, and an often displaced, weak feature of undefined profile appearing as fuzz. It is suggested that this fuzz indicates an exchange of matter between the prominence and the corona.Visiting Astronomer, Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Oslo, Norway.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Comparison between some Hα and X-ray flares

In the present paper, H-evolutive curves of chromospheric events are compared with flux evolutive curves of X-ray events observed at the same time in different spectral regions. A correspondence between the emissions E(I _H/I _chr)'s at higher and higher H-intensity levels, and the X-ray fluxes F()'s in harder and harder -ranges is shown. Further, the present observations seem to indicate the existence of a single triggering mechanism during the flash-phase of a flare. It is also shown that these results may be in agreement with Brown's model for chromospheric flares.     

Some statistical properties of Ellerman bombs

One hundred seventy-eight Ellerman bombs were identified and studied with on- and off-band H filtergrams of two active centers, one near disk center and the other near the east limb. The photographs, taken through a 1/4 Å bandpass filter, occasionally attained resolution as fine as 0.3. The mean duration of bombs at H-2 Å was about 13 min near disk center and 11 min near the limb; these times increase slightly when we observe closer to the core of H. Eighty-six percent of the bombs in the near-limb region and 56% in the disk-center region were seen to be accompanied by ejections of dark material; the ejections were 3–30 long. The ejection length appears to be proportional to the bomb size times the bomb lifetime.     

Dynamic phenomena in the chromospheric layer of a sunspot

We have studied running penumbral waves, umbral oscillations, umbral flashes and their interrelations from H observations of a large isolated sunspot. Using a subtraction image processing technique we removed the sharp intensity gradient between the umbra and the penumbra and enhanced the low contrast, fine features. We observed running penumbral waves which started in umbral elements with a size of a few arcseconds, covered the umbra and subsequently propagated through the penumbra. The period of the waves was 190 s and the mean propagation velocity was about 15 km s^–1. We detected intense brightenings, located between umbral elements from where waves started, which had the characteristics of umbral flashes. There are indications that umbral flashes are related to the propagation of the waves through the umbra and their coupling. The subtraction images also show considerable fine structure in the chromospheric umbra, with size between 0.3 and 0.8.     

Photospheric and chromospheric umbral dots in a decaying sunspot

Time-sequenced H filtergrams and narrow-band blue filtergrams (₀ = 4308 Å, = 10 Å) of umbral dots in a decaying sunspot were studied. The results are: (a) Photospheric umbral dots have lifetimes of about 40 min. (b) Two types of proper motion were found for photospheric umbral dots. Umbral dots born in the umbra or in the light bridge show virtually no proper motion. On the other hand, umbral dots of penumbral origin move inward to the umbra with speeds of about 0.4 km s ^–1. (c) Chromospheric umbral dots, which have dimensions of 0.6 × 1.2 in the mean, were more numerously found than photospheric umbral dots. (d) Photospheric umbral dots were observed to be associated with chromospheric umbral dots. Thus umbral dots are not phenomena confined to photospheric levels but also extend to chromospheric levels. (e) Some of the chromospheric umbral dots are unrelated to the photospheric umbral dots. They may be excited by the infalling matter from the umbral corona.Contribution from the Kwasan and Hida Observatories, University of Kyoto, No. 266.     

High-Resolution Hα Observations of Proper Motion in NOAA 8668: Evidence for Filament Mass Injection by Chromospheric Reconnection

There have been two different kinds of explanations for the source of cool material in prominences or filaments: coronal condensations from above and cool plasma injections from below. In this paper, we present observational results which support filament mass injection by chromospheric reconnection. The observations of an active filament in the active region NOAA 8668 were performed on 17 August 1999 at a wavelength of H–0.6 Å using the 65 cm vacuum reflector, a Zeiss H birefringent filter, and a 12-bit SMD digital camera of Big Bear Solar Observatory. The best image was selected every 12 s for an hour based on a frame selection algorithm. All the images were then co-aligned and corrected for local distortion due to the seeing. The time-lapse movie of the data shows that the filament was undergoing ceaseless motion. The H flow field has been determined as a function of time using local correlation tracking. Time-averaged flow patterns usually trace local magnetic field lines, as inferred from H fibrils and line-of-sight magnetograms. An interesting finding is a transient flow field in a system of small H loops, some of which merge into the filament. The flow is associated with a cancelling magnetic feature which is located at one end of the loop system. Initially a diverging flow with speeds below 10 km s^–1 is visible at the flux cancellation site. The flow is soon directed along the loops and accelerated up to 40 km s^–1 in a few minutes. Some part of the plasma flow then merges into and moves along the filament. This kind of transient flow takes place several times during the observations. Our results clearly demonstrate that reconnection in the photosphere and chromosphere is a likely way to supply cool material to a filament, as well as re-organizing the magnetic field configuration, and, hence, is important in the formation of filaments.     

A comparison between the helium 10830 Å and the hydrogen Hα chromospheres

Spectroheliograms of resolution about 2 arc sec obtained simultaneously in He 10830 Å and H show in the network a very close agreement in position of dark H mottles and of bright H plage remnants with 10830 Å absorption, though there is not a one-to-one relation between the intensities; the typical intensity in 10830 Å, corrected for overlapping lines, is I 0.91 of the continuum. Some parts of the network do not appear in 10830 Å. This line is much weaker over supergranule centres (I 0.98), though near active regions dark H fibrils coincide with faint 10830 Å fibrils (I0.93–0.98).Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

The absence of flares in λ3835 and the heating of the chromosphere

Simultaneous observations of flares in H and a band 15 Å wide centered on 3835 Å show no change whatever in 3835 Å at the time of several flares, although the chromospheric network is easily visible. Flares are therefore transparent in this wavelength.Since the flare represents a test heat input from above, and no brightening of the network appears, we conclude it is impossible for the corona to produce the bright network by downward convection.     

High-resolution photography of the solar chromosphere

High-resolution filtergrams of a sunspot and its surroundings, taken at seven wavelengths in H with the aid of a computer-controlled 1/8 Å filter, have been used to derive the contrast of ten sunspot superpenumbra fibrils as functions of wavelength. The observed contrast profiles are compared with profiles calculated on the basis of three theoretical models, namely, Beckers' (1964) cloud model, Athay's (1970) velocity model, and a pure Doppler shift model. However, none of these models in their present form account for all the observed profiles.Arguments are presented which suggest that, in addition to line-of-sight velocity, the height of a moving chromospheric structure relative to the region over which the H line is formed plays a decisive role in shaping the observed profile. Improvements to existing theoretical treatments are suggested.The nature of the fibril velocity field is discussed briefly.     

Recent changes in the spectrum of the Be star 48 Persei

A search of rapid and slow spectral variations of Balmer lines with time resolution from seconds, minutes, months, and years is carried out for 48 Per. In total, 40 spectral scans in the H and 13 spectral scans in the 3500-5300 Å region were secured during 6 nights. The results of this study show that, in general, there are rapid variations of H at the limit of the noise level. Large changes with time scales of months and years in H and higher Balmer lines have been investigated for the first time in 48 Per.     

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.     

Spatial relationship between λ5303 and Hα components of a loop prominence system

There are remarkable similarities in the structure of loop prominences when observed in H and coronal lines, although the lines arise from extremely different excitation conditions. This leads to the consideration of a multi-component model, where different emission lines come from different elements of the structure. The late phases of a large west limb loop prominence system followed by a surge were recorded at Haleakala Observatory on March 6, 1970. Simultaneous filter-grams in H and 5303 were obtained, together with spectra at three heights in the prominence over the range 3850–5950 Å. The positions of bright knots of emission as seen in the green line are compared with associated H knots. With these relative positions determined, the filtergrams are superimposed to demonstrate the two dimensional spatial relationship between H and 5303 structures. The results support a model of cool loops within a closely associated hot loop system.     

Hα red asymmetry of solar flares

The evolutional characteristics of the red asymmetry of H flare line profiles were studied by means of a quantitative analysis of H flare spectra obtained with the Domeless Solar Telescope at Hida Observatory. Red-shifted emission streaks of H line are found at the initial phase of almost all flares which occur near the disk center, and are considered to be substantial features of the red asymmetry. It is found that a downward motion in the flare chromospheric region is the cause of the red-shifted emission streak. The downward motion abruptly increases at the onset of a flare, attains its maximum velocity of about 40 to 100 km s^-1 shortly before the impulsive peak of the microwave burst, and rapidly decreases before the intensity of H line reaches its maximum. Referring to the numerical simulations made by Livshits et al. (1981) and Somov et al. (1982), we conclude that the conspicuous red-asymmetry or the red-shifted emission streak of H line is due to the downward motion of the compressed chromospheric flare region produced by the impulsive heating by energetic electron beam or thermal conduction.Contributions from the Kwasan and Hida Observatories, University of Kyoto, No. 258.