ON THE COMBINATION OF IMAGING-POLARIMETRY WITH SPECTROPOLARIMETRY OF UPPER SOLAR ATMOSPHERES DURING SOLAR ECLIPSES
- Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650011 (China)
- Center for Advanced Instrumentation, University of Durham (United Kingdom)
We present results from imaging polarimetry (IP) of upper solar atmospheres during a total solar eclipse on 2012 November 13 and spectropolarimetry of an annular solar eclipse on 2010 January 15. This combination of techniques provides both the synoptic spatial distribution of polarization above the solar limb and spectral information on the physical mechanism producing the polarization. Using these techniques together we demonstrate that even in the transition region, the linear polarization increases with height and can exceed 20%. IP shows a relatively smooth background distribution in terms of the amplitude and direction modified by solar structures above the limb. A map of a new quantity that reflects direction departure from the background polarization supplies an effective technique to improve the contrast of this fine structure. Spectral polarimetry shows that the relative contribution to the integrated polarization over the observed passband from the spectral lines decreases with height while the contribution from the continuum increases as a general trend. We conclude that both imaging and spectral polarimetry obtained simultaneously over matched spatial and spectral domains will be fruitful for future eclipse observations.
- OSTI ID:
- 22133923
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 774, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
THE 2008 AUGUST 1 ECLIPSE SOLAR-MINIMUM CORONA UNRAVELED
STUDY OF THE 3D GEOMETRIC STRUCTURE AND TEMPERATURE OF A CORONAL CAVITY USING THE LIMB SYNOPTIC MAP METHOD