William Dean Pesnell

Deciphering solar magnetic activity. I. On the relationship between the sunspot cycle and the evolution of small magnetic features

Sunspots are a canonical marker of the Suns internal magnetic field which flips polarity every ~22 yr. The principal variation of sunspots, an ~11 yr variation, modulates the amount of the magnetic field that pierces the solar surface and drives significant variations in our stars radiative, particulate, and eruptive output over that period. This paper presents observations from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and Solar Dynamics Observatory indicating that the 11 yr sunspot variation is intrinsically tied to the spatio-temporal overlap of the activity bands belonging to the 22 yr magnetic activity cycle. Using a systematic analysis of ubiquitous coronal brightpoints and the magnetic scale on which they appear to form, we show that the landmarks of sunspot cycle 23 can be explained by considering the evolution and interaction of the overlapping activity bands of the longer-scale variability.

Destruction of Sun-Grazing Comet C/2011 N3 (SOHO) Within the Low Solar Corona

Star Grazing Some comets come perilously close to the Sun. Schrijver et al. (p. 324; see the Perspective by Lisse) describe observations made by the Solar Dynamics Observatory of one such Sun-grazing comet, which penetrated into, fragmented, and completely sublimated within the solar atmosphere. More than 2000 Sun-grazing comets have been observed in the past 15 years but none could be followed into the Suns atmosphere. By showing that comets can be observed at such small distances from the Sun, this study opens up new ways to study comets and also the solar atmosphere. The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory detected and tracked a comet as it penetrated the solar atmosphere. Observations of comets in Sun-grazing orbits that survive solar insolation long enough to penetrate into the Sun’s inner corona provide information on the solar atmosphere and magnetic field as well as on the makeup of the comet. On 6 July 2011, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed the demise of comet C/2011 N3 (SOHO) within the low solar corona in five wavelength bands in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV). The comet penetrated to within 0.146 solar radius (~100,000 kilometers) of the solar surface before its EUV signal disappeared. Before that, material released into the coma—at first seen in absorption—formed a variable EUV-bright tail. During the final 10 minutes of observation by SDO’s Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, ~6 × 108 to 6 × 1010 grams of total mass was lost (corresponding to an effective nucleus diameter of ~10 to 50 meters), as estimated from the tail’s deceleration due to interaction with the surrounding coronal material; the EUV absorption by the comet and the brightness of the tail suggest that the mass was at the high end of this range. These observations provide evidence that the nucleus had broken up into a family of fragments, resulting in accelerated sublimation in the Sun’s intense radiation field.

Predictions of Solar Cycle 24: How are We Doing?

Predictions of solar activity are an essential part of our Space Weather forecast capability. Users are requiring usable predictions of an upcoming solar cycle to be delivered several years before solar minimum. A set of predictions of the amplitude of Solar Cycle 24 accumulated in 2008 ranged from zero to unprecedented levels of solar activity. The predictions formed an almost normal distribution, centered on the average amplitude of all preceding solar cycles. The average of the current compilation of 105 predictions of the annual-average sunspot number is 106 +/- 31, slightly lower than earlier compilations but still with a wide distribution. Solar Cycle 24 is on track to have a below-average amplitude, peaking at an annual sunspot number of about 80. Our need for solar activity predictions and our desire for those predictions to be made ever earlier in the preceding solar cycle will be discussed. Solar Cycle 24 has been a below-average sunspot cycle. There were peaks in the daily and monthly averaged sunspot number in the Northern Hemisphere in 2011 and in the Southern Hemisphere in 2014. With the rapid increase in solar data and capability of numerical models of the solar convection zone we are developing the ability to forecast the level of the next sunspot cycle. But predictions based only on the statistics of the sunspot number are not adequate for predicting the next solar maximum. I will describe how we did in predicting the amplitude of Solar Cycle 24 and describe how solar polar field predictions could be made more accurate in the future.

THE EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET EMISSION FROM SUN-GRAZING COMETS

The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory has observed two Sun-grazing comets as they passed through the solar atmosphere. Both passages resulted in a measurable enhancement of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) radiance in several of the AIA bandpasses. We explain this EUV emission by considering the evolution of the cometary atmosphere as it interacts with the ambient solar atmosphere. Molecules in the comet rapidly sublimate as it approaches the Sun. They are then photodissociated by the solar radiation field to create atomic species. Subsequent ionization of these atoms produces a higher abundance of ions than normally present in the corona and results in EUV emission in the wavelength ranges of the AIA telescope passbands.

APPEARANCES AND STATISTICS OF CORONAL CAVITIES DURING THE ASCENDING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24

We present a survey of 429 coronal prominence cavities found between 2010 May and 2015 February using the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly limb synoptic maps. We examined correlations between each cavitys height, width, and length. Our findings showed that around 38% of the cavities were prolate, 27% oblate, and 35% circular in shape. The lengths of the cavities ranged from 0.06 to 2.9 . When a cavity is longer than 1.5 , it has a narrower height range (0.1–0.3 ), whereas when the cavity was shorter than 1.5 , it had a wider height range (0.07–0.5 ). We find that the overall three-dimensional topology of the long, stable cavities can be characterized as a long tube with an elliptical cross section. We also noted that the circular and oblate cavities are longer in length than the prolate cavities. We also studied the physical mechanisms behind the cavity drift toward the pole and found it to be tied to the meridional flow. Finally, by observing the evolution of the cavity regions using SDO/Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) surface magnetic field observations, we found that the cavities formed a belt near the polar coronal hole boundary; we call this the cavity belt. Our results showed that the cavity belt migrated toward higher latitude over time and the cavity belt disappeared after the polar magnetic field reversal. This result shows that cavity evolution provides new insight into the solar cycle.

The Time-dependent Chemistry of Cometary Debris in the Solar Corona

Recent improvements in solar observations have greatly progressed the study of sungrazing comets. They can now be imaged along the entirety of their perihelion passage through the solar atmosphere, revealing details of their composition and structure not measurable through previous observations in the less volatile region of the orbit further from the solar surface. Such comets are also unique probes of the solar atmosphere. The debris deposited by sungrazers is rapidly ionized and subsequently influenced by the ambient magnetic field. Measuring the spectral signature of the deposited material highlights the topology of the magnetic field and can reveal plasma parameters such as the electron temperature and density. Recovering these variables from the observable data requires a model of the interaction of the cometary species with the atmosphere through which they pass. The present paper offers such a model by considering the time-dependent chemistry of sublimated cometary species as they interact with the solar radiation field and coronal plasma. We expand on a previous simplified model by considering the fully time-dependent solutions of the emitting species densities. To compare with observations, we consider a spherically symmetric expansion of the sublimated material into the corona and convert the time-dependent ion densities to radial profiles. Using emissivities from the CHIANTI database and plasma parameters derived from a magnetohydrodynamic simulation leads to a spatially dependent emission spectrum that can be directly compared with observations. We find our simulated spectra to be consistent with observation.

The Formation and Maintenance of the Dominant Southern Polar Crown Cavity of Cycle 24

In this article, we report a study of the longest-lived polar crown cavity of Solar Cycle 24, using an observation from 2013, and propose a physical mechanism to explain its sustained existence. We used high temporal and spatial resolution observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) instruments on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to explore the structure and evolution of the cavity. Although it existed for more than a year, we examined the circumpolar cavity in great detail from 2013 March 21 to 2013 October 31. Our study reinforces the existing theory of formation of polar crown filaments that involves two basic processes to form any polar crown cavity as well as the long-lived cavity that we studied here. First, the underlying polarity inversion line (PIL) of the circumpolar cavity is formed between (1) the trailing part of dozens of decayed active regions distributed in different longitudes and (2) the unipolar magnetic field in the polar coronal hole. Second, the long life of the cavity is sustained by the continuing flux cancellation along the PIL. The flux is persistently transported toward the polar region through surface meridional flow and diffusion. The continuing flux cancellation leads to the shrinking of the polar coronal hole.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): A systems approach to a complex mission

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) includes three advanced instruments, massive science data volume, stringent science data completeness requirements, and a custom ground station to meet mission demands. The strict instrument science requirements imposed a number of challenging drivers on the overall mission system design, leading the SDO team to adopt an integrated systems engineering presence across all aspects of the mission to ensure that mission science requirements would be met. Key strategies were devised to address these system level drivers and mitigate identified threats to mission success. The global systems engineering team approach ensured that key drivers and risk areas were rigorously addressed through all phases of the mission, leading to the successful SDO launch and on-orbit operation. Since launch, SDOs on-orbit performance has met all mission science requirements and enabled groundbreaking science observations, expanding our understanding of the Sun and its dynamic processes.