This process also generates magnetic disturbances called Alfven waves that travel along magnetic field lines and further heat the coronal plasma. This also creates shock waves that travel outwards towards the base of the corona and heat the plasma to 100,000 Celsius and higher. The tops of these small loops reconnect together to form a more tangled magnetic field, and release energy to heat the local plasma. The figure shows the solar surface (photosphere) located at 0 kilometers (In the figure this is noted as 0 Megameters: 0 Mm) and the mini-magnetic loops created there by the solar granulation convection. A sketch of the many phenomena operating there is shown in this figure: It is a complex zone of plasma and magnetic field, which transmits matter and energy between the photosphere and the corona. Solar physicists call the chromosphere and the narrow region above it the solar ‘interface region’. Magnetic arcs, prominences and other carpets of magnetic activity repeatedly form and dissolve, releasing energy and stirring up the chromospheric plasma. The reason for this is that the magnetic fields formed at or below the surface of the photosphere are not confined to the solar surface, but extend through-out the chromosphere. But rather than being just a homogenous shell of plasma, it resembles the troposphere of our own planet Earth with complex storms and other phenomena roiling its volume from minute to minute. Physically, the chromosphere begins near the surface of the photosphere with a temperature near 4700 Celsius and a density of 10 17 particles/cm 3 (2x10 -4 kg/m 3), and at its highest level reaches a temperature near 25,000 Celsius and a lower density of 1010 particles/cm 3 (2x10 -11 kg/m 3). This spectacular image is the work of Luc Viatour (Luc Viatour / of the 1999 eclipse and plainly shows the chromosphere and some of its details. It is only seen during total solar eclipses, or with sophisticated telescopes, and its red and pinkish color gives the blackened moon a thin halo of color against the greyish corona further out, hence its name ‘chromo’ sphere. ![]() Only during a total solar eclipse do we have the opportunity to fully appreciate all of the other solar details hidden by the photosphere’s brilliance.Ībove the photosphere and extending about 5,000 km above its turbulent surface, we find a region of the solar atmosphere called the chromosphere. But once you filter out the light from the photosphere, all other fainter regions vanish completely. Normally, the brilliant surface of the sun, called the photosphere, is the most common feature we see, and even so its brightness masks many other important regions of the sun from easy view. Eclipse: Who? What? When? Where? and How?.
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