16,541 research outputs found
Neptune at Summer Solstice: Zonal Mean Temperatures from Ground-Based Observations 2003-2007
Imaging and spectroscopy of Neptune's thermal infrared emission is used to
assess seasonal changes in Neptune's zonal mean temperatures between Voyager-2
observations (1989, heliocentric longitude Ls=236) and southern summer solstice
(2005, Ls=270). Our aim was to analyse imaging and spectroscopy from multiple
different sources using a single self-consistent radiative-transfer model to
assess the magnitude of seasonal variability. Globally-averaged stratospheric
temperatures measured from methane emission tend towards a quasi-isothermal
structure (158-164 K) above the 0.1-mbar level, and are found to be consistent
with spacecraft observations of AKARI. This remarkable consistency, despite
very different observing conditions, suggests that stratospheric temporal
variability, if present, is 5 K at 1 mbar and 3 K at 0.1 mbar during
this solstice period. Conversely, ethane emission is highly variable, with
abundance determinations varying by more than a factor of two. The retrieved
C2H6 abundances are extremely sensitive to the details of the T(p) derivation.
Stratospheric temperatures and ethane are found to be latitudinally uniform
away from the south pole (assuming a latitudinally-uniform distribution of
stratospheric methane). At low and midlatitudes, comparisons of synthetic
Voyager-era images with solstice-era observations suggest that tropospheric
zonal temperatures are unchanged since the Voyager 2 encounter, with cool
mid-latitudes and a warm equator and pole. A re-analysis of Voyager/IRIS 25-50
{\mu}m mapping of tropospheric temperatures and para-hydrogen disequilibrium
suggests a symmetric meridional circulation with cold air rising at
mid-latitudes (sub-equilibrium para-H2 conditions) and warm air sinking at the
equator and poles (super-equilibrium para-H2 conditions). The most significant
atmospheric changes are associated with the polar vortex (absent in 1989).Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures. Accepted for publication in Icaru
Comparison of Solar Fine Structure Observed Simultaneously in Ly-{\alpha} and Mg II h
The Chromospheric Lyman Alpha Spectropolarimeter (CLASP) observed the Sun in
H I Lyman-{\alpha} during a suborbital rocket flight on September 3, 2015. The
Interface Region Imaging Telescope (IRIS) coordinated with the CLASP
observations and recorded nearly simultaneous and co-spatial observations in
the Mg II h&k lines. The Mg II h and Ly-{\alpha} lines are important
transitions, energetically and diagnostically, in the chromosphere. The
canonical solar atmosphere model predicts that these lines form in close
proximity to each other and so we expect that the line profiles will exhibit
similar variability. In this analysis, we present these coordinated
observations and discuss how the two profiles compare over a region of quiet
sun at viewing angles that approach the limb. In addition to the observations,
we synthesize both line profiles using a 3D radiation-MHD simulation. In the
observations, we find that the peak width and the peak intensities are well
correlated between the lines. For the simulation, we do not find the same
relationship. We have attempted to mitigate the instrumental differences
between IRIS and CLASP and to reproduce the instrumental factors in the
synthetic profiles. The model indicates that formation heights of the lines
differ in a somewhat regular fashion related to magnetic geometry. This
variation explains to some degree the lack of correlation, observed and
synthesized, between Mg II and Ly-{\alpha}. Our analysis will aid in the
definition of future observatories that aim to link dynamics in the
chromosphere and transition region.Comment: Accepted by Ap
Evidence of Non-Thermal Particles in Coronal Loops Heated Impulsively by Nanoflares
The physical processes causing energy exchange between the Sun's hot corona
and its cool lower atmosphere remain poorly understood. The chromosphere and
transition region (TR) form an interface region between the surface and the
corona that is highly sensitive to the coronal heating mechanism. High
resolution observations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)
reveal rapid variability (about 20 to 60 seconds) of intensity and velocity on
small spatial scales at the footpoints of hot dynamic coronal loops. The
observations are consistent with numerical simulations of heating by beams of
non-thermal electrons, which are generated in small impulsive heating events
called "coronal nanoflares". The accelerated electrons deposit a sizable
fraction of their energy in the chromosphere and TR. Our analysis provides
tight constraints on the properties of such electron beams and new diagnostics
for their presence in the nonflaring corona.Comment: Published in Science on October 17:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6207/1255724 . 26 pages, 10 figures.
Movies are available at: http://www.lmsal.com/~ptesta/iris_science_mov
Resonant Absorption of Transverse Oscillations and Associated Heating in a Solar Prominence. I- Observational aspects
Transverse magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves have been shown to be ubiquitous
in the solar atmosphere and can in principle carry sufficient energy to
generate and maintain the Sun's million-degree outer atmosphere or corona.
However, direct evidence of the dissipation process of these waves and
subsequent heating has not yet been directly observed. Here we report on high
spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution observations of a solar prominence
that show a compelling signature of so-called resonant absorption, a long
hypothesized mechanism to efficiently convert and dissipate transverse wave
energy into heat. Aside from coherence in the transverse direction, our
observations show telltale phase differences around 180 degrees between
transverse motions in the plane-of-sky and line-of-sight velocities of the
oscillating fine structures or threads, and also suggest significant heating
from chromospheric to higher temperatures. Comparison with advanced numerical
simulations support a scenario in which transverse oscillations trigger a
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) at the boundaries of oscillating threads via
resonant absorption. This instability leads to numerous thin current sheets in
which wave energy is dissipated and plasma is heated. Our results provide
direct evidence for wave-related heating in action, one of the candidate
coronal heating mechanisms.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Part II by
Patrick Antolin et al. will appear soo
- …