Reconstruction of the large-scale distribution of coronal electrons from eclipse data.
Abstract
Mathematical models of the global electron density distribution in the corona were first constructed from solar eclipse images at the end of the last century. Since then, the complexity of these density models has increased steadily, as additional free parameters and new mathematical tools were incorporated. The ultimate goal of this effort has always been to improve the representation of the inhomogeneous coronal structure, while maintaining a restricted set of parameters. This review puts the sucessive steps of this maturation process in a general perspective. A recent model, developed at the Royal Observatory of Belgium for the 1991 and 1994 eclipses, is described to illustrate the modeling techniques and some current issues.
- Publication:
-
Theoretical and Observational Problems Related to Solar Eclipses
- Pub Date:
- 1997
- Bibcode:
- 1997ASIC..494..103C
- Keywords:
-
- Solar Corona: Electron Densities;
- Solar Corona: Solar Eclipses;
- Solar Eclipses: 1994 November 3;
- Solar Eclipses: 1991 July 11