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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Interplanetary cosmic ray intensity - 1972-1984 and out to 32 AU

The interplanetary cosmic-ray intensity was measured over a complete solar activity cycle for heliocentric distances of up to 32 AU, using the Geiger-Mueller tubes on Pioneer 10 and 11. The study uses the revised background rates derived from observations during the Saturn encounter of Pioneer 11 (September 1, 1979). Time profiles of the intensity for the 1972-1984 period have a flat and relatively constant maximum for 1975 through 1977, a brief (8-month) minimum in mid-1981, and a maximum centered around early January, 1983. The maximum-to-minimum intensity ratio for the solar activity cycle is approximately 2.7. The correlation among the Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and Deep River observation results is found to be fairly good. The radius of the heliospheric modulation region is noted to be greater than 32 AU; certain arguments indicate that it lies between 50 and 100 AU.

Van Allen, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Solar generated quasi-biennial geomagnetic variation

The existence of highly correlated quasi-biennial variations in the geomagnetic field and in solar activity is demonstrated. The analysis uses a numerical filter technique applied to monthly averages of the geomagnetic horizontal component and of the Zurich relative sunspot number. Striking correlations are found between the quasi-biennial geomagnetic variations determined from several magnetic observatories located at widely different longitudes, indicating a worldwide nature of the obtained variation. The correlation coefficient between the filtered Dst index and the filtered relative sunspot number is found to be -0.79 at confidence level greater than 99% with a time-lag of 4 months, with solar activity preceding the Dst variation. The correlation between the unfiltered data of Dst and of the sunspot number is also high with a similar time-lag. Such a timelag has not been discussed in the literature, and a further study is required to establish the mode of sun-earth relationship that gives this time delay.

Sugiura, M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

A Correction for the IRI Topside Electron Density Model Based on Alouette/ISIS Topside Sounder Data

The topside segment of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) electron density model (and also of the Bent model) is based on the limited amount of topside data available at the time (40,OOO Alouette 1 profiles). Being established from such a small database it is therefore not surprising that the models have well-known shortcomings, for example, at high solar activities. Meanwhile a large data base of close to 200,000 topside profiles from Alouette 1,2, and ISIS I, 2 has become available online. A program of automated scaling and inversion of a large volume of digitized ionograms adds continuously to this data pool. We have used the currently available ISIs/Alouette topside profiles to evaluate the IRI topside model and to investigate ways of improving the model. The IRI model performs generally well at middle latitudes and shows discrepancies at low and high latitudes and these discrepancies are largest during high solar activity. In the upper topside IRI consistently overestimates the measurements. Based on averages of the data-model ratios we have established correction factors for the IRI model. These factors vary with altitude, modified dip latitude, and local time.

Bilitza, D.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The 1973 solar occultation of the Crab Nebula pulsar

The mean electron density of the solar corona was determined by measuring the dispersion of radiofrequency pulses from pulsar NP 0532 during the June 1973 solar occultation. Trends continued which were noticed in 1971 as solar activity declined. Model fitting results suggest that the corona continued to become even more concentrated toward the equator in 1973 than in 1971. The number density of electrons in most regions decreased. The best model of the distribution of corona electrons is suggested to be one with zero density at the poles. K-corona isophotes and contours of equal path-integrated density are presented for several models. Electron density versus date and position in the corona are tabulated. It is seen that there is no simple relationship between the onset of major solar activity and density or scattering enhancements.

Weisberg, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The simulated features of heliospheric cosmic-ray modulation with a time-dependent drift model. IV - The role of heliospheric neutral sheet deformation

Previous calculations with a time-dependent drift model revealed the model to be less successful in describing time-dependent modulation during periods of moderate to large solar activity. In this paper, it is argued that a major reason for this is that the previously used wavy heliospheric neutral sheet (HNS) description was based on an idealized HNS not subject to any spatial evolution while propagating radially outward. It is suggested that the deformation and compression of HNS wave peaks will lead to significant increases in the crossfield diffusion across these peaks (short-circuiting). The cosmic rays will effectively experience reduced tilt angles and therefore a reduction in the integrated HNS modulation effect between an observer and the heliospheric boundary. During periods of moderate to large solar activity these HNS deformation processes are progressively more frequent and should lead to a significant reduction in time-dependent modulation as predicted by drift models. Calculations done with radially propagating tilt angles that effectively decrease with radial distance give the expected reduction which improves the general description of modulation from 1987-1988.

Le Roux, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Sodium Tail of the Moon

During the few days centered about new Moon, the lunar surface is optically hidden from Earth-based observers. However, the Moon still offers an observable: an extended sodium tail. The lunar sodium tail is the escaping "hot" component of a coma-like exosphere of sodium generated by photon-stimulated desorption, solar wind sputtering and meteoroid impact. Neutral sodium atoms escaping lunar gravity experience solar radiation pressure that drives them into the anti-solar direction forming a comet-like tail. During new Moon time, the geometry of the Sun, Moon and Earth is such that the anti-sunward sodium flux is perturbed by the terrestrial gravitational field resulting in its focusing into a dense core that extends beyond the Earth. An all-sky camera situated at the El Leoncito Observatory (CASLEO) in Argentina has been successfully imaging this tail through a sodium filter at each lunation since April 2006. This paper reports on the results of the brightness of the lunar sodium tail spanning 31 lunations between April 2006 and September 2008. Brightness variability trends are compared with both sporadic and shower meteor activity, solar wind proton energy flux and solar near ultra violet (NUV) patterns for possible correlations. Results suggest minimal variability in the brightness of the observed lunar sodium tail, generally uncorrelated with any single source, yet consistent with a multi-year period of minimal solar activity and non-intense meteoric fluxes.

Matta, M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Overview of MaGIXS-2: The second flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer

The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) is a sounding rocket mission that completed a successful flight from the White Sands Missile Range on July 30, 2021. MaGIXS captured spatially resolved soft X-ray spectra from portions of two solar active regions during its roughly 5-minute flight. The instrument was originally designed as a grazing incidence slit spectrograph but flew in a slit-less configuration that produced overlapping spectroheliograms. For the second flight, MaGIXS-2, the instrument has been reconfigured to a more simplified optical layout that reuses the Wolter-I telescope and blazed varied-line space reflective grating. The field stop at the telescope focal plane and the finite conjugate spectrometer mirror pair have been removed – the telescope now directly feeds the grating. Additionally, an identical but new 2k x 1k CCD camera has been built for this flight. The MaGIXS-2 data product will again be overlapping spectroheliograms of at least one solar active region, but with improved resolution, a larger field of view and increased effective area. Here we present the updated instrument layout, the expected performance, the integration and calibration approach, and proposed future improvements, including the implementation of additional complimentary spectral diagnostics.

Imaging Spectrometer↗
NASA NTRS1989

The relative line strength and intensity of the N II 2143 doublet

The doublet emission from N II at 2139.7 A and 2143.6 A was observed by a 1.4-m scanning spectrometer with 3.1 A resolution in the daytime, high-altitude thermosphere during moderate levels of solar activity. The spectrometer viewed the earth's limb 5 deg below the local horizontal to give a nominal tangent height of 152 km. Both sub band heads of the nitric oxide gamma band system were resolved in the data at the resolution used. The emission features from N II are clearly evident on the short wavelength shoulder of the (1, 0) band. Synthetic profiles of the (1, 0) gamma band and the (0, 3) delta band of nitric oxide were fitted to the data using a chi-square analysis. These contributions were removed from the data leaving a residual emission, considered to be the N II doublet. A chi-square minimization of the data relative to a synthetic intensity profile was done. The minimum was for a line strength ratio between the 2139 A and 2143 A lines of 0.58 + or - 0.08. The mean solar EUV flux deduced from the intensity of the N II emission in this experiment is lower than other reported observations, consistent with a lower solar activity level.

Bucsela, Eric J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Current Characteristics and Trends of the Tracked Satellite Population in the Human Space Flight Regime

Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, human space flight has been restricted to altitudes below 600 km above the Earth s surface with most missions restricted to a ceiling below 400 km. An investigation of the tracked satellite population transiting and influencing the human space flight regime during the past 11 years (equivalent to a full solar cycle) has recently been completed. The overall effects of satellite breakups and solar activity are typically less pronounced in the human space flight regime than other regions of low Earth orbit. As of January 2006 nearly 1500 tracked objects resided in or traversed the human space flight regime, although two-thirds of these objects were in orbits of moderate to high eccentricity, significantly reducing their effect on human space flight safety. During the period investigated, the spatial density of tracked objects in the 350-400 km altitude regime of the International Space Station demonstrated a steady decline, actually decreasing by 50% by the end of the period. On the other hand, the region immediately above 600 km experienced a significant increase in its population density. This regime is important for future risk assessments, since this region represents the reservoir of debris which will influence human space flight safety in the future. The paper seeks to put into sharper perspective the risks posed to human space flight by the tracked satellite population, as well as the influences of solar activity and the effects of compliance with orbital debris mitigation guidelines on human space flight missions. Finally, the methods and successes of characterizing the population of smaller debris at human space flight regimes are addressed.

Johnson, Nicholas L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Group Sunspot Numbers: Sunspot Cycle Characteristics

We examine the "Group" sunspot numbers constructed by Hoyt and Schatten to determine their utility in characterizing the solar activity cycle. We compare smoothed monthly Group Sunspot Numbers to Zurich (International) Sunspot Numbers, 10.7-cm radio flux, and total sunspot area. We find that the Zurich numbers follow the 10.7-cm radio flux and total sunspot area measurements slightly better than the Group numbers. We examine several significant characteristics of the sunspot cycle using both Group numbers and Zurich numbers. We find that the "Waldmeier Effect" - the anti-correlation between cycle amplitude and the elapsed time between minimum and maximum of a cycle - is much more apparent in the Zurich numbers. The "Amplitude-Period Effect" the anti-correlation between cycle amplitude and the length of the previous cycle from minimum to minimum - is also much more apparent in the Zurich numbers. The "Amplitude-Minimum Effect" - the correlation between cycle amplitude and the activity level at the previous (onset) minimum is equally apparent in both the Zurich numbers and the Group numbers. The "Even-Odd Effect" - in which odd-numbered cycles are larger than their even-numbered precursors - is somewhat stronger in the Group numbers but with a tighter relationship in the Zurich numbers. The "Secular Trend" - the increase in cycle amplitudes since the Maunder Minimum - is much stronger in Group numbers. After removing this trend we find little evidence for multi-cycle periodicities like the 80 year Gleissberg cycle or the two- and three-cycle periodicities. We also find little evidence for a correlation between the amplitude of a cycle and its period or for a bimodal distribution of cycle periods. We conclude that the Group numbers are most useful for extending the sunspot cycle data further back in time and thereby adding more cycles and improving the statistics. However, the Zurich numbers are more useful for characterizing the on-going levels of solar activity.

Hathaway, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Numerical simulation of solar coronal magnetic fields

Many aspects of solar activity are believed to be due to the stressing of the coronal magnetic field by footpoint motions at the photosphere. The results are presented of a fully spectral numerical simulation which is the first 3-D time dependent simulation of footpoint stressing in a geometry appropriate for the corona. An arcade is considered that is initially current-free and impose a smooth footpoint motion that produces a twist in the field of approx 2 pi. The footprints were fixed and the evolution was followed until the field relaxes to another current-free state. No evidence was seen for any instability, either ideal or resistive and no evidence for current sheet formation. The most striking feature of the evolution is that in response to photospheric motions, the field expands rapidly upward to minimize the stress. The expansion has two important effects. First, it suppresses the development of dips in the field that could support dense, cool material. For the motions assumed, the magnetic field does not develop a geometry suitable for prominence formation. Second, the expansion inhibits ideal instabilities such as kinking. The results indicate that simple stearing of a single arcade is unlikely to lead to solar activity such as flares or prominences. Effects are discussed that might possibly lead to such activity.

Dahlburg, Russell B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Solar irradiance modulation by active regions from 1969 through 1980

The solar irradiance variations resulting from sunspot deficits and facular excesses in emission have been calculated from 1969 through 1980. Agreement appears to exist between the calculations and the major features seen with the Nimbus 7 cavity pyrheliometer and with both the major and minor features detected by the Solar Maximum Mission ACRIM experiment. The 12-year irradiance variations calculated suggest a larger variance with increased solar activity, and little change in the average irradiance with solar activity. The largest excursions over these 12 years show a 0.4% variation. Removal of the activity influences upon solar irradiance during the numerous rocket experiments observing the solar constant may allow a better value for this quantity to be determined.

Schatten, K. H.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spectroscopic study of a dark lane and a cool loop in a solar limb active region by Hinode/EIS

We investigated a cool loop and a dark lane over a limb active region on 2007 March 14 using the Hinode/EUV Imaging Spectrometer. The cool loop is clearly seen in the spectral lines formed at the transition region temperature. The dark lane is characterized by an elongated faint structure in the coronal spectral lines and is rooted on a bright point. We examined their electron densities, Doppler velocities, and nonthermal velocities as a function of distance from the limb. We derived electron densities using the density sensitive line pairs of Mg VII, Si X, Fe XII, Fe XIII, and Fe XIV spectra. We also compared the observed density scale heights with the calculated scale heights from each peak formation temperatures of the spectral lines under the hydrostatic equilibrium. We noted that the observed density scale heights of the cool loop are consistent with the calculated heights, with the exception of one observed cooler temperature; we also found that the observed scale heights of the dark lane are much lower than their calculated scale heights. The nonthermal velocity in the cool loop slightly decreases along the loop, while nonthermal velocity in the dark lane sharply falls off with height. Such a decrease in the nonthermal velocity may be explained by wave damping near the solar surface or by turbulence due to magnetic reconnection near the bright point.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1993

Solar flux forecasting using mutual information with an optimal delay

Solar flux F(sub 10.7) directly affects the atmospheric density, thereby changing the lifetime and prediction of satellite orbits. For this reason, accurate forecasting of F(sub 10.7) is crucial for orbit determination of spacecraft. Our attempts to model and forecast F(sub 10.7) uncovered highly entangled dynamics. We concluded that the general lack of predictability in solar activity arises from its nonlinear nature. Nonlinear dynamics allow us to predict F(sub 10.7) more accurately than is possible using stochastic methods for time scales shorter than a characteristic horizon, and with about the same accuracy as using stochastic techniques when the forecasted data exceed this horizon. The forecast horizon is a function of two dynamical invariants: the attractor dimension and the Lyapunov exponent. In recent years, estimation of the attractor dimension reconstructed from a time series has become an important tool in data analysis. In calculating the invariants of the system, the first necessary step is the reconstruction of the attractor for the system from the time-delayed values of the time series. The choice of the time delay is critical for this reconstruction. For an infinite amount of noise-free data, the time delay can, in principle, be chosen almost arbitrarily. However, the quality of the phase portraits produced using the time-delay technique is determined by the value chosen for the delay time. Fraser and Swinney have shown that a good choice for this time delay is the one suggested by Shaw, which uses the first local minimum of the mutual information rather than the autocorrelation function to determine the time delay. This paper presents a refinement of this criterion and applies the refined technique to solar flux data to produce a forecast of the solar activity.

Ashrafi, S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A review of short-term flare forecasting activities at Toyokawa

Short-term forecasting of solar activity conducted at Toyokawa is briefly reviewed. The forecasts are based on microwave observations of the slowly varying component of solar radiation associated with active regions. It was found that for proton flares which take place in intense active regions, it is possible to predict their occurrence with certain accuracy, but for a certain class of proton flares which occur in a small active region or which are associated with an active region, which evolves very rapidly, or for whose which occur behind the limb, it is almost impossible to forecast their occurrence.

Enome, S.↗
DOE OSTI2016

On the robustness of the pendulum model for large-amplitude longitudinal oscillations in prominences

Large-amplitude longitudinal oscillations (LALOs) in prominences are spectacular manifestations of solar activity. In such events nearby energetic disturbances induce periodic motions on filaments with displacements comparable to the size of the filaments themselves and with velocities larger than 20 km s{sup −1}. The pendulum model, in which the gravity projected along a rigid magnetic field is the restoring force, was proposed to explain these events. However, it can be objected that in a realistic situation where the magnetic field reacts to the mass motion of the heavy prominence, the simplified pendulum model could be no longer valid. We have performed nonlinear time-dependent numerical simulations of LALOs considering a dipped magnetic field line structure. In this work we demonstrate that for even relatively weak magnetic fields the pendulum model works very well. We therefore validate the pendulum model and show its robustness, with important implications for prominence seismology purposes. With this model it is possible to infer the geometry of the dipped field lines that support the prominence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Search for evidence of a clock related to the solar 154 day complex of periodicities

Evidence that has recently been compiled (Bai and Sturrock 1991) indicates that the enigmatic 154-day periodicity in solar activity may be viewed as part of a complex of periodicities that are approximate multiples of 25.8 days, suggesting that the Sun contains a 'clock' with frequency in the range 440 to 463 nano Hz. The clock may comprise either an oscillator or a rotator, each of which may be either real or virtual. We have reconsidered a previous spectrum analysis of the Zurich sunspot-number sequence by Knight, Schatten, and Sturrock (1979) which revealed a sharp, persistent and significant periodicity with a period of 12.072 days, corresponding to a frequency of about 958.8 nano Hz. This periodicity may be regarded as the (second) upper sideband of the second harmonic (2nu(sub R) + 2nu(sub E)) of a fundamental frequency of 447.7 nano Hz that is clearly within the search band. In this expression, nu(sub R) is the sidereal frequency of the hypothetical rotator and nu(sub E) is the frequency (31.69 nano Hz) of the Earth in its orbital motion around the Sun. In analyzing sunspot area data derived from the Greenwich data set, and on noting that any frequency is defined only to within the Nyquist frequency, we find clear evidence not only for the upper sideband of the second harmonic, but also for the second harmonic (2nu(sub R)) and the lower sideband of the second harmonic (2nu(sub R) - 2nu(sub E)). There is no strong peak at the fundamental frequency in the Greenwich data, but there is in the Zurich sunspot data. The effect of a linear oscillator is, to the lowest order in the amplitude, the same as the combined effect of two rotators of opposite polarities. A rotator that has arbitrary orientation with respect to the ecliptic may influence the outer layers of the Sun and thereby modulate the occurrence of solar activity such as sunspots. By analyzing a simple model, we find that such a rotator would influence surface activity in such a way that the spectrum of a 'signal' (such as the record of sunspots), as seen from the Earth, would contain components with frequencies that are certain integral combinations of nu(sub R) and nu(sub E). The amplitudes of the various components depend sensitively on theta, the angle between the axis of the rotator and the axis of the Earth's orbital motion. This simple model therefore offers a kinematical (but not dynamical) interpretation of the sunspot spectrum. The present analysis, while offering support of our conjectures that the Sun contains a clock that regulates the 154-day complex of periodicities, cannot distinguish between an osillator or a rotator (that might be a traveling wave), nor between a real rotator or a virtual rotator (that might be an apparent traveling wave due to the aliasing effect of an oscillator in a rotating system). Further analysis of sunspot and other data sets will be required to confirm the existence of such clock and (if it is real) to determine its physical nature.

Sturrock, P. A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

EMISSA (Exploring Millimeter Indicators of Solar-Stellar Activity): I. The initial millimeter–centimeter main-sequence star sample

Due to their wide wavelength coverage across the millimeter to centimeter (mm–cm) range and their increased sensitivity, modern interferometric arrays facilitate observations of the thermal and non-thermal radiation that is emitted from different layers in the outer atmospheres of stars. We study the spectral energy distribution (S obs (ν)) of main-sequence stars based on archival observations in the mm–cm range with the aim to study their atmospheric stratification as a function of stellar type. The main-sequence stars with significant detection in mm bands were identified in the ALMA Science Archive. These data were then complemented with spectral flux data in the extreme ultraviolet to cm range as compiled from various catalogues and observatory archives. We compared the resultant S obs (ν) of each star with a photospheric emission model (S mod (ν)) calculated with the PHOENIX code. The departures of S obs (ν) from S mod (ν) were quantified in terms of a spectral flux excess parameter (ΔS/S mod ) and studied as a function of stellar type. The initial sample consists of 12 main-sequence stars across a broad range of spectral types from A1 to M3.5 and the Sun-as-a-star as reference. The stars with T eff = 3000–7000 K (F–M type) showed a systematically higher S obs (ν) than S mod (ν) in the mm–cm range. Their ΔS/S mod exhibits a monotonic rise with decreasing frequency. The steepness of this rise is higher for cooler stars in the T eff = 3000–7000 K range, although the single fully convective star (T eff ~ 3000 K) in the sample deviates from this trend. Meanwhile, Sobs(ν) of the A-type stars agrees with S mod (ν) within errors. The systematically high ΔS/S mod in F–M stars indicates hotter upper atmospheric layers, that is, a chromosphere and corona in these stars, like for the Sun. The mm–cm ΔS/S mod spectrum offers a way to estimate the efficiency of the heating mechanisms across various outer atmospheric layers in main-sequence stars, and thereby to understand their structure and activity. We emphasise the need for dedicated surveys of main-sequence stars in the mm–cm range.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗