The Development of Solar Prominence on 4th September ......flares, sunspots, filaments or solar...

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WSN 45(2) (2016) 264-275 EISSN 2392-2192

The Development of Solar Prominence on 4

th

September 2015 and the Solar Burst Type III and IV

N. A. Norsham1, Z. S. Hamidi1,*, Muzamir Mazlan2, N. N. M. Shariff3,

N. S. Yusofl1, A. I. Jafni1, N. M. F. Khalib1, M. N. Hamdan1,

Farahana Kamaruddin4, Muhammad Redzuan Tahar4, C. Monstein5 1School of Physics and Material Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, MARA University of Technology,

40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

2Kompleks Baitul Hilal Telok Kemang, Lot 4506 Batu 8, Jalan Pantai, 5, Tanjung Tanah Merah, 71050,

Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

3Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS), MARA University of Technology,

40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

4Langkawi National Observatory, National Space Agency, (ANGKASA), Empangan Bukit Malut 07000,

Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

5Institute of Astronomy, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, Building HIT, Floor J, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland

*E-mail address: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

This article will focus on the solar prominences that occur during the 4th September 2015. On

that day, there were two sunspots on the surface of the sun, which were AR2409 and AR2410. These

two active regions did not produce any threat for strong flare and thus the solar activity was very low.

The prominences that will be focused were both occurred at 0353 UT and 0427 UT respectively.

There were minor (G1) geomagnetic storm observed on that day. For solar prominences that occurred

at 0353 UT, solar radio burst type (SRBT) IV was detected by CALLISTO spectrometer. From the

CALLISTO, two bursts at low intensities with the duration of about 7 minutes for the first burst of

280-320 MHz and 6 minutes for the second burst of 360-430 MHz were observed. For the first burst,

energy calculated was between 1.855 x 10 -25

J and 2.12 x 10 -25

J with the drift rate of 0.095 MHz/s.

For second burst, the energy obtained was between 2.385 x 10 -25

J and 2.849 x 10 -25

J with the drift

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rate of 0.194 MHz/s. At 0427 UT, SRBT III was recorded with a frequency of 240-350 MHz with the

energy which was obtained between 1.590 x 10 -25

J and 2.319 x 10 -25

J. The drift rate of this type of

burst was 0.61 MHz/s. During this event, the solar wind value was 499.3 km/Sec with the proton

density of 15.1 protons/cm3.

Keywords: Solar prominences; active region (AR); solar burst; type III; type IV; e CALLISTO

1. INTRODUCTION

The Sun is a star in our solar system has 16 million K of its core temperature and has a

distance of 1 AU from the Earth [1]. Sun is located at the main sequence region where we can

see it in the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram which converts hydrogen to helium in its energy

supply [2]. Solar prominence or filaments are formed above the chromosphere, which is a

cool structure embedded in the corona. Prominences can be formed from active and quiet sun

regions over filament channels [3-5]. Quiescent prominences are found in the coronal cavities

[6-10] and formed from cool and dense plage concentrations far from active regions eg.

[5,11,12]. They can persist for a few months and usually disappear by eruption [13]. There are

a few parameters of quiescent prominences (lecture notes by K. Petrovay) which may form i)

in active region (less common), ii) between two active regions or iii) over polar crown neutral

line near the expanding AR. The magnetic forces to support them against gravity. The

quiescent prominences have a height (above the chromosphere) in the range of 15-100 Mm, a

length of 60-600 Mm, a width of 5-15 Mm, a pressure of 0.1-1 dyn/cm 2

, 10 10

– 10 11

cm -3

of

average electron density, a temperature of 4300-8500 K, 4-20 G of magnetic strength [14-16].

Larger-scale structure of quiescent prominences remain the same while the fine structure

changes rapidly [17]. Prominences can be attached to active regions or hang above the quiet

chromosphere. Moreover, for this type of prominences, the polar (polar crown) filaments and

low-latitude (sunspot) filaments can be distinguished. Polar filaments are the one with

quietest prominences, largest and lasts longest where the low-latitude filaments can end in

sunspots. There are smaller, shorter lived filaments which lasts for less than one day, have

stronger magnetic fields of 20-70 G and also has a flow of v < 60 km/s along the filament

which is called as plage filaments [18].

Solar flares can excite plasma oscillations which are classified by five types which are

type I, II, III, IV and V [19, 20]. In this sub-section, we are going to focus on type III and IV.

Solar radio burst type III was first introduced by Wild in 1963 [21] with the frequency range

of 500-10 MHz [22-24]. This burst can be characterized by rapid drifting of the radiation from

high to low frequencies. The drift rate (df/dt) can be determined using the formula of:

Drift rate (df/dt) = ( fe – fs ) / ( te – ts ) [Unit: MHz/s] (1)

Drift rate is a peak displacement in frequency per unit time. It can be calculated by

using the value of the end frequency (fe) subtract the value of the start frequency (fs) divided

by the value of the end time (te) subtract the value of the start time (ts) of the solar burst.

According to [25], the rate for this type III is about 100 MHz s -1

in metric range which

is 100 times larger than in type II burst. Besides that, type III bursts are formed from the

beams of electron that flow outwards from the corona into interplanetary (IP) space along the


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open magnetic field lines. Type III burst is found when there is an active region on the visible

side of the sun and indicates the increased in solar activity. It can occur singly, group or even

in a storm where they are formed from relatively low energy electron beams of kinetic energy

approximately 30 keV with a speed of about c/3 [26-28]. The speed is said to be dangerous to

space weather and so does the Earth climate where it can extends to 1 AU [29]. This type of

burst also produced from energetic particles that released through open magnetic field lines

[19].

Type IV bursts give rapid varying fine structures and broad continuum emission [19].

This burst’s type shows that there is formation of a new active region [30, 31]. A type IV

event that is fully developed is very complex. This type is known to occur from type II burst.

Solar radio burst type IV has two categories which are (i) broadband radio pulsations (BBP)

and (ii) zebra patterns (ZP). Besides that, in the low corona, the flare plasma are being

diagnosed of the fine structures (FS) of solar type IV [32]. BBP source occurs near the active

region and decays away from it [33]. The motion follows the magnetic field direction where

the apparent speed is a fraction of the speed of light. BBPs and ZPs are usually observed a

few days before solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) event occur [19, 34].

2. METHODOLOGY

There are two types of instruments used to obtain the data which were Lunt Solar 100

mm H-Alpha telescope and CALLISTO spectrometer. The observation was carried out at

Telok Kemang Solar Observatory, Port Dickson, Malaysia with coordinate of N02’26’42.7”

and E101’51’16.4”. Lunt Solar with hydrogen alpha filter was used to get the optical data of

the solar prominences. A CCD camera, ZWO ASI120MM with a 2x Barlow lens were

attached to the Lunt Solar 100mm H-Alpha telescope and linked to a software to see the

images of the sun.

The ZWO CCD is a monochrome camera which has a proper filtration when observed

the sun where the 2x Barlow lens was used to increase the magnification of the eyepiece so

that the sun can be seen clearly. A setting of the camera was set in the software such as the

frame number and color setting. Then, searched for the desired image, for example the solar

flares, sunspots, filaments or solar prominences and started capturing the images. The

captured images, then will be edited by using AutoStakert, RegiStax and Adobe Photoshop to

get the best image result of the sun. After the images were processed, all the data of the solar

prominences was collected (sunspot number, solar wind, etc.). Then, the images of solar

prominences by using an optical telescope was compared with the radio telescope images of

the type of burst produced.

CALLISTO spectrometer is a programmable receiver built to observe or detect solar

radio burst that occur at a particular time and location. This program is applied to observed

solar radio burst and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) that is used to monitor for

astronomical science, education and others. CALLISTO operates between frequencies of 45

to 870 MHz using a modern, commercially available broadband cable TV tuner having a

frequency resolution of 63.5 KHz. There are a lot of CALLISTO instruments have been

deployed in Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Switzerland, Russia, South Africa and many more.


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Figure 1. Solar Telescope at Teluk Kemang Solar Observatory

(Credited to: Teluk Kemang Solar Observatory, Malaysia)

Figure 2. CALLISTO Sytem (Credit: e CALLISTO)


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3. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

From Figure 3, two sunspots can be detected on 4th

September 2015. These two

sunspots were AR2409 and AR2410. The prominences that occurred on that day were shown

in Figure 4 and Figure 5 on 0353 UT and 0427 UT respectively. Based on Figure 6 of e-

CALLISTO spectrometry, the structure of the Type IV radio burst was presented with two

low intensities of solar burst. This event occurred at a starting frequency of 280 MHz of 03:45

[UT] and end frequency of 320 MHz of 03:52 [UT]. The other intensity start at 360 MHz on

03:53 [UT] and end frequency of 430 MHz on 03:59 [UT]. The energy minimum for starting

frequency of 280 MHz was 1.855 x 10 -25

J while the energy maximum was 2.12 x 10 -25

J and

have a drift rate of 0.095 MHz/s. For the other intensity with starting frequency 360 MHz, the

energy minimum obtained was 2.385 x 10 -25

J and its energy maximum was 2.849 x 10 -25

J

with the drift rate of 0.194 MHz/s.

Figure 3. The location of AR2409 and AR2410 on 4th September 2015 (Credited to: SDO/HMI)

The event was recorded by the e-CALLISTO using RCAG antenna located in Mongolia.

The solar wind recorded during this event was 499.3 km/Sec with the proton density of 15.1

protons/cm3. The data were updated for every 10 minutes from the Space Weather website.

They were obtained from real-time information transmitted to Earth from Advanced

Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft located between the Earth and the Sun which enables


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it to give a one hour advance warning of impending geomagnetic activity and reported by

NOAA Space Environment Center.

Figure 4. The prominence that occurred at 0353 UT

(Credited to: Telok Kemang Solar Observatory, Malaysia)

Figure 5. The prominences that occurred at 0427 UT

(Credited to : Telok Kemang Solar Observatory, Malaysia)


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Figure 6. Solar Radio Burst Type IV.

Fig

ure 6

. Details o

f e-CA

LL

IST

O sp

ectrom

etry o

n 0

353 U

T (C

redit: e C

AL

LIS

TO

)


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Figure 7. Solar Radio Burst Type IV and III.

Fig

ure 7

. Details o

f e-CA

LL

IST

O sp

ectrom

etry o

n 0

427 U

T (C

redit: e C

AL

LIS

TO

)


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From Figure 7 of e-CALLISTO spectrometry, structure of Type III radio burst was

observed with low intensity of solar burst. The starting frequency of this event was 240 MHz

of 04:15 [UT] and end frequency of 350 MHz of 04:18 [UT]. This event was recorded by e-

CALLISTO using RCAG antenna. The solar wind recorded for this event was 499.3 km/Sec

and 15.1 protons/cm3 of proton density. The minimum energy obtained was 1.590 x 10

-25 J

and energy maximum was 2.319 x 10 -25

J. Both prominences were detected as quiescent

prominences as they were not produced from the AR2409 and AR2410 on 4th

September 2015.

Table 1. The condition of the sun on 4

th September 2015 (Credit: Space Weather).

Parameter Value

Radio sun 10.7 cm flux: 87 sfu

X-ray Solar flare 6-hr max : B3 1930 UT Sep04

24-hr : B4 0518 UT Sep04

Planetary K- index Now : Kp = 2 quiet

24-hr max : Kp = 5 storm

Interplanetary Magnetic Field Btotal = 6.2 nT

Bz = 0.7 nT north

4. CONCLUSIONS

Solar radio burst type III is a fast drift burst which can occur singly, in groups or even

storms. This radio emission is caused by flare accelerated electron beams that propagates with

high velocity through the corona. Based on the analysis, the duration of the formation of the

burst was 3 minutes with the drift rate of 0.611 MHz/s. The minimum energy obtained was

1.590 x 10 -25

J and maximum energy of 2.319 x 10 -25

J for the frequency of 240 MHz to 350

MHz. For solar radio burst type IV, the burst shows a broadband continuum with fine

structure characteristics. The analysis showed that there were two bursts at low intensities

with the duration of about 7 minutes for the first burst (280-320 MHz) and 6 minutes for the

second burst (360-430 MHz). The drift rate was 0.095 MHz/s for the first burst while for the

second burst, the drift rate was 0.194 MHz/s. The energy calculated was between 1.855 x 10 -

25 J and 2.12 x 10

-25 J for frequency of 280 MHz and 320 MHz. The other intensity of

frequency 360 MHz and 430 MHz, the energy calculated was between 2.385 x 10 -25

J and

2.849 x 10 -25

J.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We are grateful to CALLISTO network, STEREO, LASCO, SDO/AIA, NOAA, SOHO, SolarMonitor and

SWPC make their data available online. This work was partially supported by the 600-RMI/FRGS 5/3

(135/2014) and 600-RMI/RAGS 5/3 (121/2014) UiTM grants and Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia.


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Special thanks to the National Space Agency and the National Space Centre for giving us a site to set up this

project and support this project. Solar burst monitoring is a project of cooperation between the Institute of

Astronomy, ETH Zurich, and FHNW Windisch, Switzerland, Universiti Teknologi MARA and University of

Malaya. This paper also used NOAA Space Weather Prediction Centre (SWPC) for the sunspot, radio flux and

solar flare data for comparison purpose. The research has made use of the National Space Centre Facility and a

part of an initiative of the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) program. We are also thanks to the

Langkawi National Observatory, National Space Agency, (ANGKASA), Empangan Bukit Malut 07000

Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia, for giving us the facility to book and use the discussion room to complete this paper.

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( Received 15 March 2016; accepted 31 March 2016 )

The Development of Solar Prominence on 4th September ......flares, sunspots, filaments or solar...

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