Solar Physics Talk
Wednesday, Mar. 19, 2008 at 3:30 in Bldg. 26, Rm G10
of Goddard Space Flight Center
Gary Kilper
Rice U.
Results from Studies of Prominence Mass, Composition and its Variability
Extending previous work on the total mass and composition of
prominences (Gilbert et al 2002, Kucera et al 1998), we have conducted
two studies to examine the relative amount of neutral and ionized H
and He in prominences, its spatial distribution, temporal variation,
and how these parameters relate to the level of activity in the
prominences. Our findings include observational evidence of neutral
He draining across the magnetic field faster than neutral H in stable
prominences, a homogenized distribution of the composition in more
highly varying prominences, and that the homogenization is a
ubiquitous precursor to an eruption.
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