History of solar coronal expansion studies

ALEXANDER, PETER

EOS TRANSACTIONS - AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION

American Geophysical Union

Año: 1992 vol. 73 p. 433 - 438

0096-3941

The solar corona is the outer shell of the Sun´s atmosphere and traditionally, has been observed at the time of solar eclipse. The plasma in this zone is so hot (1–2×106K) that even the Sun´s enormous gravity cannot retain it, and a continuous outflow of mass, the “solar wind,” fills the interplanetary region. Electrons and protons are the major constituents of this fluid. A few centuries ago, some of the rare and unpredictable phenomena related to the solar coronal expansion, such as comet tails and aurorae, were considered to be forecasts of the world´s destruction. Recent studies of the subject, however, have contributed to our knowledge in such diverse fields as plasma theory, astrophysics, and geomagnetism. ©1992. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.