High-frequency coronal oscillations and coronal heating

At the 1980 total solar eclipse, we searched for high-frequency (0.1–2 Hz) oscillations in the intensity of the 5303-Å coronal green line, as a test of predictions of theories of coronal heating via magnetohydrodynamic waves. Portions of the image 2.5- or 5-arc sec across were fed to cooled photomultipliers using fiber-optic probes. We detected excess power in Fourier transforms of the data for the region between 0.5 and 2 Hz at the level of 1% or 2% of the incident power. Such oscillations could be associated with Alfvén waves that are trapped on loops a few thousand kilometers long or with fast waves that are trapped on loops a few thousand kilometers in diameter. Additional observations at the 1983 eclipse are planned to resolve atmospheric and instrumental contributions.