Flare Mechanism


Image from Lang, K., Sun, Earth
and Sky, Springer-Verlag, Germany, p 145,
1995
Caption:
  • The image to the left is a helmet streamer observed by the Yokhoh spacecraft.
  • The top image is a schematic of the proposed mechanisms operating during a flare.
  • Within the helmet structure, highly stretched field lines provide favorable conditions for magnetic reconnection to occur. Oppositely- directed magnetic field lines can come together and reconnect with the release of energy.
  • The magnetic reconnection process can account for many signatures of flares including: high energy particle acceleration, ejections of matter, and the formation of two bright ribbons at the foot points of the arch structures in the chromosphere.

 
home		  
syllabus		  
outline		  
notes		  
problem 
sets		  
project		  
movies		  
images
 
Send feedback to Linda Johnson, lejohnso@engin.umich.edu.
The source of this material is Windows to the Universe, at http://www.windows.ucar.edu/ at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). © The Regents of the University of Michigan. Windows to the Universe® is a registered trademark of UCAR. All Rights Reserved. Site policies and disclaimer