Submillimeter Solar Images from the JCMT
Abstract
We present nearly full-disk, diffraction-limited solar images made at 350 and 850 microns and at 1.3 mm from the 15 m James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea. These wavelengths sample the thermal structure of the solar chromosphere at altitudes from 500 to about 1500 km, providing a height-dependent diagnostic of the atmosphere. Filament channels and neutral lines are apparent in the submillimeter images, although filaments themselves are not clearly visible. The submillimeter images show plage approximately 20% brighter than the surrounding quiet Sun, while sunspot intensities are comparable to the quiet Sun. ``Circumfacules,'' dark areas surrounding active regions, are observed in the submillimeter images and are similar to those seen in Ca 8542; comparison with Ca H and K may give estimates of the temperature and filling factor of the hot gas present in these probably bifurcated regions.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 1992
- Bibcode:
- 1992AAS...181.9406K