Miloslav Druckmüller

Total Solar Eclipse Observations of Hot Prominence Shrouds

Using observations of the corona taken during the total solar eclipses of 2006 March 29 and 2008 August 1 in broadband white light and in narrow bandpass filters centered at Fe X 637.4 nm, Fe XI 789.2 nm, Fe XIII 1074.7 nm, and Fe XIV 530.3 nm, we show that prominences observed off the solar limb are enshrouded in hot plasmas within twisted magnetic structures. These shrouds, which are commonly referred to as cavities in the literature, are clearly distinct from the overlying arch-like structures that form the base of streamers. The existence of these hot shrouds had been predicted by model studies dating back to the early 1970s, with more recent studies implying their association with twisted magnetic flux ropes. The eclipse observations presented here, which cover a temperature range of 0.9 to 2 ×106 K, are the first to resolve the long-standing ambiguity associated with the temperature and magnetic structure of prominence cavities.

The Solar Eclipse of 2006 and the Origin of Raylike Features in the White-Light Corona

Solar eclipse observations have long suggested that the white-light corona is permeated by long fine rays. By comparing photographs of the 2006 March 29 total eclipse with current-free extrapolations of photospheric field measurements and with images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), we deduce that the bulk of these linear features fall into three categories: (1) polar and low-latitude plumes that overlie small magnetic bipoles inside coronal holes, (2) helmet streamer rays that overlie large loop arcades and separate coronal holes of opposite polarity, and (3) pseudostreamer rays that overlie twin loop arcades and separate coronal holes of the same polarity. The helmet streamer rays extend outward to form the plasma sheet component of the slow solar wind, while the plumes and pseudostreamers contribute to the fast solar wind. In all three cases, the rays are formed by magnetic reconnection between closed coronal loops and adjacent open field lines. Although seemingly ubiquitous when seen projected against the sky plane, the rays are in fact rooted inside or along the boundaries of coronal holes.

THERMODYNAMICS OF THE SOLAR CORONA AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR MAGNETIC FIELD AS INFERRED FROM THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OBSERVATIONS OF 2010 JULY 11

We report on the first multi-wavelength coronal observations, taken simultaneously in white light, Hα 656.3 nm, Feix 435.9 nm, Fex 637.4 nm, Fexi 789.2 nm, Fexiii 1074.7 nm, Fexiv 530.3 nm, and Nixv 670.2 nm, during the total solar eclipse of 2010 July 11 from the atoll of Tatakoto in French Polynesia. The data enabled temperature differentiations as low as 0.2 × 10 6 K. The first-ever images of the corona in Feix and Nixv showed that there was very little plasma below 5 × 10 5 K and above 2.5 × 10 6 K. The suite of multi-wavelength observations also showed that open field lines have an electron temperature near 1×10 6 K, while the hottest, 2×10 6 K, plasma resides in intricate loops forming the bulges of streamers, also known as cavities, as discovered in our previous eclipse observations. The eclipse images also revealed unusual coronal structures, in the form of ripples and streaks, produced by the passage of coronal mass ejections and eruptive prominences prior to totality, which could be identified with distinct temperatures for the first time. These trails were most prominent at 10 6 K. Simultaneous Fex 17.4 nm observations from Proba2/SWAP provided the first opportunity to compare Fex emission at 637.4 nm with its extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) counterpart. This comparison demonstrated the unique diagnostic capabilities of the coronal forbidden lines for exploring the evolution of the coronal magnetic field and the thermodynamics of the coronal plasma, in comparison with their EUV counterparts in the distance range of 1–3 R� . These diagnostics are currently missing from present space-borne and ground-based observatories.

Mapping the Distribution of Electron Temperature and Fe Charge States in the Corona with Total Solar Eclipse Observations

The inference of electron temperature from the ratio of the intensities of emission lines in the solar corona is valid only when the plasma is collisional. Once collisionless, thermodynamic ionization equilibrium no longer holds, and the inference of an electron temperature and its gradient from such measurements is no longer valid. At the heliocentric distance where the transition from a collision-dominated to a collisionless plasma occurs, the charge states of different elements are established, or frozen-in. These are the charge states which are subsequently measured in interplanetary space. We show in this study how the 2006 March 29 and 2008 August 1 eclipse observations of a number of Fe emission lines yield an empirical value for a distance, which we call Rt , where the emission changes from being collisionally to radiatively dominated. Rt ranges from 1.1 to 2.0 R ☉, depending on the charge state and the underlying coronal density structures. Beyond that distance, the intensity of the emission reflects the distribution of the corresponding Fe ion charge states. These observations thus yield the two-dimensional distribution of electron temperature and charge state measurements in the corona for the first time. The presence of the Fe X 637.4 nm and Fe XI 789.2 nm emission in open magnetic field regions below Rt , such as in coronal holes and the boundaries of streamers, and the absence of Fe XIII 1074.7 nm and Fe XIV 530.3 nm emission there indicate that the sources of the solar wind lie in regions where the electron temperature is less than 1.2 × 106 K. Beyond Rt , the extent of the Fe X [Fe9+] and Fe XI emission [Fe10+], in comparison with Fe XIII [Fe12+] and Fe XIV [Fe13+], matches the dominance of the Fe10+ charge states measured by the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer, SWICS, on Ulysses, at –43° latitude at 4 AU, in March-April 2006, and Fe9+ and Fe10+ charge states measured by SWICS on the Advanced Composition Explorer, ACE, in the ecliptic plane at 1 AU, at the time of both eclipses. The remarkable correspondence between these two measurements establishes the first direct link between the distribution of charge states in the corona and in interplanetary space.

Multi-Scale Gaussian Normalization for Solar Image Processing

Extreme ultra-violet images of the corona contain information over a wide range of spatial scales, and different structures such as active regions, quiet Sun, and filament channels contain information at very different brightness regimes. Processing of these images is important to reveal information, often hidden within the data, without introducing artefacts or bias. It is also important that any process be computationally efficient, particularly given the fine spatial and temporal resolution of Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (AIA/SDO), and consideration of future higher resolution observations. A very efficient process is described here, which is based on localised normalising of the data at many different spatial scales. The method reveals information at the finest scales whilst maintaining enough of the larger-scale information to provide context. It also intrinsically flattens noisy regions and can reveal structure in off-limb regions out to the edge of the field of view. We also applied the method successfully to a white-light coronagraph observation.

Phase Correlation Method for the Alignment of Total Solar Eclipse Images

A modified phase correlation method, based on Fourier transform, which enables the alignment of solar coronal images taken during the total solar eclipses, is presented. The method enables the measurement of translation, rotation, and scaling factor between two images. With the application of this technique, pairs of images with different exposure times, different brightness scale, such as linear for CCD and nonlinear for images taken with photographic film, and even images from different emission lines can be aligned with sub-pixel precision.

Comparing eclipse observations of the 2008 August 1 solar corona with an MHD model prediction

Context. The structure of the white-light and emission solar coronas and their MHD modelling are the context of our work. Aims. A comparison is made between the structure of the solar corona as observed during the 2008 August 1 total eclipse from Mongolia and that predicted by an MHD model. Methods. The model has an improved energy formulation, including the effect of coronal heating, conduction of heat parallel to the magnetic field, radiative losses, and acceleration by Alfven waves. Results. The white-light corona, which was visible up to 20 solar radii, was of an intermediate type with well-pronounced helmet streamers situated above a chain of prominences at position angles of 48, 130, 241, and 322 degrees. Two polar coronal holes, filled with a plethora of thin polar plumes, were observed. High-quality pictures of the green (530.3 nm, Fe XIV) corona were obtained with the help of two narrow-passband filters (centered at the line itself and the vicinity of 529.1 nm background), with a FWHM of 0.15 nm. Conclusions. The large-scale shape of both the white-light and green corona was found to agree well with that predicted by the model. In this paper we describe the morphological properties of the observed corona, and how it compares with that predicted by the model. A more detailed analysis of the quantitative properties of the corona will be addressed in a future publication.

The 2008 August 1 Eclipse Solar-Minimum Corona Unraveled

We discuss the results stemming from observations of the white-light and [Fe XIV] emission corona during the total eclipse of the Sun of 2008 August 1, in Mongolia (Altaj region) and in Russia (Akademgorodok, Novosibirsk, Siberia). Corresponding to the current extreme solar minimum, the white-light corona, visible up to 20 solar radii, was of a transient type with well pronounced helmet streamers situated above a chain of prominences at position angles 48°, 130°, 241°, and 322°. A variety of coronal holes, filled with a number of thin polar plumes, were seen around the poles. Furthering an original method of image processing, stars up to 12 mag, a Kreutz-group comet (C/2008 O1) and a coronal mass ejection (CME) were also detected, with the smallest resolvable structures being of, and at some places even less than, 1 arcsec. Differences, presumably motions, in the corona and prominences are seen even with the 19 minutes time difference between our sites. In addition to the high-resolution coronal images, which show the continuum corona (K-corona) that results from electron scattering of photospheric light, images of the overlapping green-emission-line (530.3 nm, [Fe XIV]) corona were obtained with the help of two narrow-passband filters (centered on the line itself and for the continuum in the vicinity of 529.1 nm, respectively), each with an FWHM of 0.15 nm. Through solar observations, on whose scheduling and details we consulted, with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Hinodes XRT and SOT, Transition Region and Coronal Explorer, and STEREO, as well as Wilcox Solar Observatory and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Michelson Doppler Imager magnetograms, we set our eclipse observations in the context of the current unusually low and prolonged solar minimum.

Polar Plume Brightening During the 2006 March 29 Total Eclipse

We discuss a remarkable brightening in a polar plume, as inferred from unique coordinated observations of the white-light corona during the total eclipse of the Sun of 2006 March 29. The polar plume (also known as a polar ray, with distinctions that we discuss) was observed at the positional angle of 9°; the velocity at which the brightening propagated was about 65 km s−1, which is close to the values derived by modeling of mass/energy transfer in polar plumes/rays as well as to those acquired from images from the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope on the European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO/EIT). Comparing our data with those from the SOHO/LASCO C2 coronagraph, we estimate the lifetime of the polar ray to be less than 24 hr.

DISCOVERY OF A NEW CLASS OF CORONAL STRUCTURES IN WHITE LIGHT ECLIPSE IMAGES

White light images of the solar corona, taken during total solar eclipses, capture the complex dynamic relationship between the coronal plasma and the magnetic field. This relationship can be recorded on timescales of seconds to minutes, within a few solar radii above the solar surface. Rays, large-scale loops, and streamers, which are the brightest structures in these images, have shaped current models of the coronal magnetic field and solar wind flow. We show in this work how the application of novel image processing techniques to unique high-resolution white light eclipse images reveals the presence of a new class of structures, reminiscent of smoke rings, faint nested expanding loops, expanding bubbles, and twisted helical structures. These features are interpreted as snapshots of the dynamical evolution of instabilities developing at prominence-corona interfaces and propagating outward with the solar wind.