CAOSP abstracts, Volume: 28, No.: 3, year: 1999
- Author(s): RUSIN, V.; RYBANSKY, M.
- Journal: Contributions of the Astronomical Observatory Skalnate Pleso,
vol. 28, no. 3, p. 187-200.
- Date: 03/1999
- Title: The eclipse corona: reality and possible research during
the 1999 eclipse
- Keyword(s): THE SUN, CORONA, ECLIPSE, OBSERVATIONAL PROGRAM
- Pages: 187 -- 200
Abstract:
Solar eclipses provide a unique opportunity to observe the solar corona and
to solve many open questions in solar coronal physics, e.g., heating of the
corona, small-scale structures, dust particles, formation and distribution of
coronal structures around the solar surface with respect to the photospheric
activity centers, polarization, dust vaporization near the Sun, formation and
spatial orientation of solar wind streamers, etc. The forthcoming 1999 eclipse
will pass across many countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This event
will provide a good opportunity to perform observations of the corona with
'bigger' equipment to obtain high-resolution. We propose to focus scientific
experiments on the following targets:
THE WHITE-LIGHT AND EMISSION CORONA: exact photometry of the corona with
telescopes of focal length 1-3 m; in detail, photometry around the poles and/or
above active regions with a minimum focal length of 5 m; photoelectric
detection of oscillations; co-ordinated observations with `smaller' telescopes,
of 1 m focal length, along the umbral path (dynamics and large-scale structure),
polarization in emission corona, etc.
SPECTRAL OBSERVATIONS: detection of short-term oscillations (less than 0.1 s)
in individual spectral emission coronal lines or in the white-light corona;
polarization in emission coronal lines (the Hanle effect - direction of coronal
magnetic field lines); spectral observations with small-scale resolution:
colour of the solar corona, large-scale resolution: profiles of emission lines;
depth of absorption lines (F-corona), etc.
Moreover, high-precision timing of eclipse contacts can help us to obtain
more accurate parameters of the Moon's orbit around the Earth and to measure
the diameter of the Sun. Comets, if any, should be studied in the close
vicinity of the Sun. We are of the opinion that the most important problems in
solar coronal research during the 1999 eclipse will be supported by coordinated
ground-based and satellite observations.
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