Abstract
Aims
We report observations of a unique, large prominence eruption that was observed in the He II 304 Å passband of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager/Full Sun Imager telescope aboard Solar Orbiter on 15–16 February 2022.
Methods
Observations from several vantage points – Solar Orbiter, the Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and Earth-orbiting satellites – were used to measure the kinematics of the erupting prominence and the associated coronal mass ejection. Three-dimensional reconstruction was used to calculate the deprojected positions and speeds of different parts of the prominence. Observations in several passbands allowed us to analyse the radiative properties of the erupting prominence.
Results
The leading parts of the erupting prominence and the leading edge of the corresponding coronal mass ejection propagate at speeds of around 1700 km s−1 and 2200 km s−1, respectively, while the trailing parts of the prominence are significantly slower (around 500 km s−1). Parts of the prominence are tracked up to heights of over 6 R⊙. The He II emission is probably produced via collisional excitation rather than scattering. Surprisingly, the brightness of a trailing feature increases with height.
Conclusions
The reported prominence is the first observed in He II 304 Å emission at such a great height (above 6 R⊙).
We report observations of a unique, large prominence eruption that was observed in the He II 304 Å passband of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager/Full Sun Imager telescope aboard Solar Orbiter on 15–16 February 2022.
Methods
Observations from several vantage points – Solar Orbiter, the Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and Earth-orbiting satellites – were used to measure the kinematics of the erupting prominence and the associated coronal mass ejection. Three-dimensional reconstruction was used to calculate the deprojected positions and speeds of different parts of the prominence. Observations in several passbands allowed us to analyse the radiative properties of the erupting prominence.
Results
The leading parts of the erupting prominence and the leading edge of the corresponding coronal mass ejection propagate at speeds of around 1700 km s−1 and 2200 km s−1, respectively, while the trailing parts of the prominence are significantly slower (around 500 km s−1). Parts of the prominence are tracked up to heights of over 6 R⊙. The He II emission is probably produced via collisional excitation rather than scattering. Surprisingly, the brightness of a trailing feature increases with height.
Conclusions
The reported prominence is the first observed in He II 304 Å emission at such a great height (above 6 R⊙).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | L5 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| Volume | 662 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Jun 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |