The importance of high-resolution observations of the solar corona

The spatial and temporal resolutions of the available coronal observatories are inadequate to resolve the signatures of coronal heating. High-resolution and high-cadence observations available with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) and the High-resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) instrument hint that 0.3 arcsec resolution images and < 10 s cadence provide the necessary resolution to detect heating events. Hi-C was launched from White Sands Missile Range on July 11, 2012 (before the launch with IRIS) and obtained images of a solar active region in the 19.3 nm passband. In this presentation, I will discuss the potential of combining a flight in Hi-C with a 17.1 nm passband, in conjunction with IRIS. This combination will provide, for the first time, a definitive method of tracing the energy flow between the chromosphere and corona and vice versa.