Andrew Yee[_1_]
April 18th 07, 03:48 AM
Royal Astronomical Society
London, U.K.
Issued by RAS Press Officers:
Robert Massey
Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 4582
AND
Anita Heward
Tel: +44 (0)1483 420 904
NATIONAL ASTRONOMY MEETING PRESS ROOM (16 - 20 APRIL ONLY):
Tel: +44 (0)1772 892 613
+44 (0)1772 892 475
+44 (0)1772 892 477
RAS Web site:
http://www.ras.org.uk/
RAS National Astronomy Meeting web site:
http://nam2007.uclan.ac.uk
CONTACTS:
Dr Clare Parnell
School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of St. Andrews
Tel: +44 (0)1334 463706
Dr Andrew Haynes
School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of St. Andrews
Tel: +44 (0)1334 463728
From 16 to 20 April, Dr Parnell and Andrew Haynes can be contacted via the
NAM press office (see above).
PRESS INFORMATION NOTE: RAS PN 07/09 (NAM 05)
EMBARGOED FOR 00:01 BST, 16 APRIL 2007
SKELETON OF SUN'S ATMOSPHERE REVEALS ITS TRUE NATURE
The Sun's outer atmosphere or corona is incredibly complex, as shown in
observations from space. It is also extremely hot, with a temperature of
over a million degrees by comparison with that of the Sun's surface of only
6000 degrees. Scientists have now made a major breakthrough in understanding
this complexity by studying the 'skeleton' of the magnetic field. A team of
scientists from St Andrew's University will present the results on Monday 16
April at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting in
Preston. "It is the Sun's magnetic field that dominates the behaviour of the
corona and determines its structure", said team member Andrew Haynes, "and
our work is a key step forward in understanding its structure".
Until now the complexity of the magnetic field has baffled solar scientists.
Professor Eric Priest first proposed the concept of the solar skeleton in
1996. It consists of the key elements on which the complex shape of the
magnetic field is built. "We realised", added Dr Clare Parnell, "that by
constructing the skeleton of the field, we could unravel this complexity and
hopefully determine how the corona is heated".
Dr Parnell and colleagues have managed to develop a computer experiment,
which simulates the complex structure of the corona and have found that the
coronal heating is focused in specific parts of the skeleton. "In future",
she added, "we should be able to compare this type of analysis with dramatic
new observations from the recently launched Hinode spacecraft and thereby
really nail down the heating mechanism".
The work of the St Andrew's team indicates that the solar skeleton changes
continually and has a much richer structure than anyone imagined. Their work
is a building block in astronomers' efforts to better understand events such
as the solar flares and coronal mass ejections that eject billions of tonnes
of matter into space.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The 2007 RAS National Astronomy Meeting is hosted by the University of
Central Lancashire. It is sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society and
the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council.
This year the NAM is being held together with the UK Solar Physics (UKSP)
and Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial (MIST) spring meetings.
2007 is International Heliophysical Year.
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
[Image 1:
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/NAM07/parnell_haynes1.png (133KB)]
The complex magnetic field in the solar atmosphere. The particular field
lines drawn are the ones likely to be heated and therefore observed on the
Sun.
[Image 2:
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/NAM07/parnell_haynes2.gif (233KB)]
Typical image of the solar corona clearly revealing the complex tangle of
heated magnetic loops from TRACE (Image: NASA).
[Image 3:
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/NAM07/parnell_haynes3.png (21KB)]
Simulated image of the interaction of a pair of magnetic fragments with
opposite polarities. The yellow lines (regions) are the heating sites and
the red and blue field lines show the magnetic skeleton.
London, U.K.
Issued by RAS Press Officers:
Robert Massey
Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 4582
AND
Anita Heward
Tel: +44 (0)1483 420 904
NATIONAL ASTRONOMY MEETING PRESS ROOM (16 - 20 APRIL ONLY):
Tel: +44 (0)1772 892 613
+44 (0)1772 892 475
+44 (0)1772 892 477
RAS Web site:
http://www.ras.org.uk/
RAS National Astronomy Meeting web site:
http://nam2007.uclan.ac.uk
CONTACTS:
Dr Clare Parnell
School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of St. Andrews
Tel: +44 (0)1334 463706
Dr Andrew Haynes
School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of St. Andrews
Tel: +44 (0)1334 463728
From 16 to 20 April, Dr Parnell and Andrew Haynes can be contacted via the
NAM press office (see above).
PRESS INFORMATION NOTE: RAS PN 07/09 (NAM 05)
EMBARGOED FOR 00:01 BST, 16 APRIL 2007
SKELETON OF SUN'S ATMOSPHERE REVEALS ITS TRUE NATURE
The Sun's outer atmosphere or corona is incredibly complex, as shown in
observations from space. It is also extremely hot, with a temperature of
over a million degrees by comparison with that of the Sun's surface of only
6000 degrees. Scientists have now made a major breakthrough in understanding
this complexity by studying the 'skeleton' of the magnetic field. A team of
scientists from St Andrew's University will present the results on Monday 16
April at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting in
Preston. "It is the Sun's magnetic field that dominates the behaviour of the
corona and determines its structure", said team member Andrew Haynes, "and
our work is a key step forward in understanding its structure".
Until now the complexity of the magnetic field has baffled solar scientists.
Professor Eric Priest first proposed the concept of the solar skeleton in
1996. It consists of the key elements on which the complex shape of the
magnetic field is built. "We realised", added Dr Clare Parnell, "that by
constructing the skeleton of the field, we could unravel this complexity and
hopefully determine how the corona is heated".
Dr Parnell and colleagues have managed to develop a computer experiment,
which simulates the complex structure of the corona and have found that the
coronal heating is focused in specific parts of the skeleton. "In future",
she added, "we should be able to compare this type of analysis with dramatic
new observations from the recently launched Hinode spacecraft and thereby
really nail down the heating mechanism".
The work of the St Andrew's team indicates that the solar skeleton changes
continually and has a much richer structure than anyone imagined. Their work
is a building block in astronomers' efforts to better understand events such
as the solar flares and coronal mass ejections that eject billions of tonnes
of matter into space.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The 2007 RAS National Astronomy Meeting is hosted by the University of
Central Lancashire. It is sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society and
the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council.
This year the NAM is being held together with the UK Solar Physics (UKSP)
and Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial (MIST) spring meetings.
2007 is International Heliophysical Year.
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
[Image 1:
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/NAM07/parnell_haynes1.png (133KB)]
The complex magnetic field in the solar atmosphere. The particular field
lines drawn are the ones likely to be heated and therefore observed on the
Sun.
[Image 2:
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/NAM07/parnell_haynes2.gif (233KB)]
Typical image of the solar corona clearly revealing the complex tangle of
heated magnetic loops from TRACE (Image: NASA).
[Image 3:
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/NAM07/parnell_haynes3.png (21KB)]
Simulated image of the interaction of a pair of magnetic fragments with
opposite polarities. The yellow lines (regions) are the heating sites and
the red and blue field lines show the magnetic skeleton.