Counter-streaming gas flows in solar prominences as evidence for vertical magnetic fields

J. B. Zirker (), O. Engvold and S. F. Martin
Additional contact information
J. B. Zirker: National Solar Observatory, Sunspot
O. Engvold: Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo
S. F. Martin: Helio Research

Nature, 1998, vol. 396, issue 6710, 440-441

Abstract: Abstract Solar prominences are sheets of relatively cool and dense gas embedded in the surrounding hotter corona. An erupting prominence can inject a mass of up to 1015 g into the solar wind1 as part of a coronal mass ejection. These eruptions must depend critically on the topology of the prominence's magnetic field. In all present models2,3, the prominence hangs on horizontal or helical field lines, while an overlying magnetic arcade temporarily restrains the prominence from erupting. Such models are inconsistent, however, with the slow upward vertical gas flows that are seen in prominences4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14. Here we report counter-streaming flows along closely spaced vertical regions of a prominence, between its top and the lower solar atmosphere. As the flows must be aligned with the magnetic field, this observation implies that a field connects the prominence directly to the photosphere, contrary to all existing models. These magnetic ‘tethers’ might help prevent a prominence from erupting.

Date: 1998
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/24798 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:396:y:1998:i:6710:d:10.1038_24798

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/24798

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().