Secondary Flare Ribbons Observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory Article Review
Jun Zhang, Ting Li, Shuhong Yang
In this article the authors discuss observations made from the Solar Dynamics Observatory concerning flare ribbons and secondary flare ribbons between June 2010 and August 2013. They distinguish these two types of flare ribbons, which they define as the “chromospheric signatures at the footpoints of the reconnected magnetic fields,” based on brightness and their relationship to post-flare loops. They found that secondary flare ribbons have very short lifetimes relative to flare ribbons, and they almost always appeared at the same time as the flare ribbons. They attribute their presence to complicated magnetic topology and offer a few possible models, including a secondary magnetic reconnection caused by the original, interaction between the returning material and the atmosphere, and for a unique secondary flare ribbon, either coronal mass ejection driven shocks or flare blast waves. Lastly, they are left with the questions of why secondary flare ribbons do not have post-flare loops, what affects their duration, and if the length is related to the duration.
When I originally read the article I had not read up on solar flares very much, which made the article challenging to understand. However, it is written fairly clearly, so I reread it after I gained a better understanding of solar flares. There are still some technical terms that are not clear to me, but overall it is structured in a way that is easy to follow. The introduction helps to explain some of the technicalities. The conclusions themselves were not very interesting to me, as they consisted of a lot of technical explanation that was not clear to me. However, the photographs made it more interesting and a little easier to follow. The introduction offers some information helpful to my research, including a brief description of solar flares and their physical characteristics. It also introduces some technical terms, like I mentioned above, which I imagine will be helpful to my research once I learn more about them.
In this article the authors discuss observations made from the Solar Dynamics Observatory concerning flare ribbons and secondary flare ribbons between June 2010 and August 2013. They distinguish these two types of flare ribbons, which they define as the “chromospheric signatures at the footpoints of the reconnected magnetic fields,” based on brightness and their relationship to post-flare loops. They found that secondary flare ribbons have very short lifetimes relative to flare ribbons, and they almost always appeared at the same time as the flare ribbons. They attribute their presence to complicated magnetic topology and offer a few possible models, including a secondary magnetic reconnection caused by the original, interaction between the returning material and the atmosphere, and for a unique secondary flare ribbon, either coronal mass ejection driven shocks or flare blast waves. Lastly, they are left with the questions of why secondary flare ribbons do not have post-flare loops, what affects their duration, and if the length is related to the duration.
When I originally read the article I had not read up on solar flares very much, which made the article challenging to understand. However, it is written fairly clearly, so I reread it after I gained a better understanding of solar flares. There are still some technical terms that are not clear to me, but overall it is structured in a way that is easy to follow. The introduction helps to explain some of the technicalities. The conclusions themselves were not very interesting to me, as they consisted of a lot of technical explanation that was not clear to me. However, the photographs made it more interesting and a little easier to follow. The introduction offers some information helpful to my research, including a brief description of solar flares and their physical characteristics. It also introduces some technical terms, like I mentioned above, which I imagine will be helpful to my research once I learn more about them.
Traces of the Dynamic Current Sheet During a Solar Flare Article Review
![Picture](/uploads/8/0/3/2/80321776/6739617.png?136)
Haisheng Ji, Haimin Wang, Philip R. Goode, Yunchun Jiang, V. Yurchyshyn
In this article they discuss the results of their study of flare kernel motion. They explain that flare activity in the corona is not easily studied, so instead they looked at how the centroids of the kernels of flares moved to understand what is going on in the reconnection in the corona. To find the centroid, they used the the equation where Ij is the H alpha brightness at rj. They found that the centroids of the two related flares moved towards each other when the hard x-ray emissions spiked and moved away from each other after the peak time of the flare. They infer that this means the energy coming from the corona is brought back increasingly inwardly as a result of current sheet pinch motions, which enhances the magnetic reconnection rate, causing the hard x-ray spikes.
As far as this article's accessibility, after reading it a few times I think I know vaguely what it is talking about. It is a highly specific topic within solar footpoints and magnetic reconnection that requires me to be more familiar with it before I can fully understand what they are discussing. As a result, I had a hard time finding it interesting. It is challenging to be interested by something that I do not understand. It benefitted my research by giving me a little bit of a better understanding of magnetic reconnection, though, like I mentioned, it is highly specialize and a lot of it is not helpful for me getting the general understanding.
In this article they discuss the results of their study of flare kernel motion. They explain that flare activity in the corona is not easily studied, so instead they looked at how the centroids of the kernels of flares moved to understand what is going on in the reconnection in the corona. To find the centroid, they used the the equation where Ij is the H alpha brightness at rj. They found that the centroids of the two related flares moved towards each other when the hard x-ray emissions spiked and moved away from each other after the peak time of the flare. They infer that this means the energy coming from the corona is brought back increasingly inwardly as a result of current sheet pinch motions, which enhances the magnetic reconnection rate, causing the hard x-ray spikes.
As far as this article's accessibility, after reading it a few times I think I know vaguely what it is talking about. It is a highly specific topic within solar footpoints and magnetic reconnection that requires me to be more familiar with it before I can fully understand what they are discussing. As a result, I had a hard time finding it interesting. It is challenging to be interested by something that I do not understand. It benefitted my research by giving me a little bit of a better understanding of magnetic reconnection, though, like I mentioned, it is highly specialize and a lot of it is not helpful for me getting the general understanding.
Solar Prominences, Solar Flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections Article Review
Peter I. Papics
This article discusses the solar activity of solar prominences, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. He focuses on prominences, explaining their history, their characteristics, and our observations of them. He also brings up flares and coronal mass ejections, explaining the basics to give an unknowledgeable reader a basic understanding of them. He discusses how they compare and relate to prominences, and offers widely-accepted models each of the three types of activity. He also discusses solar storms and their effects on earth. He argues that more detailed observations and technology is necessary in order to better predict solar activity because of its effect on earth.
Most of this article was incredibly accessible to me. It would have been the best article to start with, as it assumes very little prior understanding. However, it was not the most professional article I have read, as the grammar is not ideal, so it does not always read smoothly. In addition, the models offered are still very complex and not as easy to understand as the background information offered about each type of activity. The explanations of the activities would have been interesting had it been the beginning of my research. With that said, all of the background explanation was quite relevant to my research but was already covered by my other resources.
This article discusses the solar activity of solar prominences, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. He focuses on prominences, explaining their history, their characteristics, and our observations of them. He also brings up flares and coronal mass ejections, explaining the basics to give an unknowledgeable reader a basic understanding of them. He discusses how they compare and relate to prominences, and offers widely-accepted models each of the three types of activity. He also discusses solar storms and their effects on earth. He argues that more detailed observations and technology is necessary in order to better predict solar activity because of its effect on earth.
Most of this article was incredibly accessible to me. It would have been the best article to start with, as it assumes very little prior understanding. However, it was not the most professional article I have read, as the grammar is not ideal, so it does not always read smoothly. In addition, the models offered are still very complex and not as easy to understand as the background information offered about each type of activity. The explanations of the activities would have been interesting had it been the beginning of my research. With that said, all of the background explanation was quite relevant to my research but was already covered by my other resources.