Vibration of solar protuberances

Vibration of solar protuberances

Scientists headed by the Canary Institute of Astrophysics and the University of La Laguna recorded about 200 solar protuberances in the first half of 2014. The study was made possible by the GONG network of telescopes, some of which are located at the Teide Observatory.

If you study the solar surface, the protuberances will be viewed as dark filaments filling the disc, or the flame beneath them. Solar prominences are extremely dense plasma structures levitating in a stellar atmosphere. It is believed that the stellar magnetic field holds them so that they do not fall to the surface under their own weight. These magnetic structures are capable of accumulating huge energy volumes, which, when released, form eruptions into interplanetary space.

Vibration of solar protuberances

In the first half of 2014, we managed to catch about 200 vibrations of prominences. The analysis showed that about half of these events had a large amplitude. That is, oscillations with speeds of 10-100 km / s. It was also possible to prove that events with a large amplitude are more common than previously thought.

The project is part of international cooperation, launched in 2015. This made it possible to find a huge variety of events and to establish that, in many cases, oscillations are formed by adjacent flashes. That is, we are talking about the sudden release of energy in the solar atmosphere. The collected data allowed us to carry out a statistical study of the properties of the oscillations. Movements consist of cyclic movement of protuberances between two locations with a period of an hour. These periods reveal the fundamental properties of the magnetic structure of the prominences and the distribution of their mass. In addition, the vibrations exhibit a large attenuation (the vibration is significantly reduced after several cycles of oscillation).

It is still unclear why the frequency of oscillation reaches an hour and because of what the motion fades so rapidly. Therefore, it is important to continue research. The information indicates that the direction of motion of the oscillations forms an angle of 27 degrees with the main axis of the prominence. This direction is consistent with previous estimates of the orientation of the magnetic field. In the future, scientists plan to extend the analysis to the entire solar cycle in order to study the evolution of these structures over the past 11 years.

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