Exploiting OSPaN (Optical Solar Patrol Network) Data to Understand Large-Scale Solar Eruptions Impacting Space Weather

摘要

Observations from the prototype Optical Solar Patrol Network OSPaN; now called ISOON (Improved Solar Optical Observing Network) telescope at the National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak were analyzed to gain insight on the origin and dynamics of eruptive solar events. Solar eruptions, or coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and their associated shock waves are principal drivers of harmful space weather effects on Air Force command, control, and communications systems. Understanding how such eruptions arise and evolve is an essential step to mitigating their impacts. ISOON Halpha images were compared with observations at other wavelengths for two eruptive solar events (on 11 June 2003 and 6 December 2006). These analyses provided evidence that: (1) large- scale solar waves are driven by CMEs; (2) the angular orientation of newly emerged magnetic flux on the solar surface relative to stable filaments plays a role in how rapidly the filaments are destabilized and erupt; and (3) intense decimetric radio bursts (attributed to the electron-cyclotron-maser emission mechanism) arise in low-density cavities, caused by field-aligned potential drops, in post-eruption magnetic loops on the Sun. These results demonstrate the potential of exploiting ISOON observations to increase our understanding of solar eruptions, a requirement for improved prediction and mitigation of space weather.