The Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) occupies part of the NOAA Mauna Loa research site located on the flank of Mauna Loa at an elevation of 3440 meters on the island of Hawaii. It is operated by the High Altitude Observatory, a division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is located in Boulder, Colorado.
Rossby waves arise in thin layers within fluid regions of stars and planets. These global wave-like patterns occur due to the variation in Coriolis forces with latitude. In the past several years observational evidence has indicated that there are also Rossby waves in the Sun.
We have analyzed 33 cavities observed between 2012 and 2018, from solar activity maximum to minimum. For each cavity we applied a differential emission measure method to obtain both a temperature distribution and a value of the average temperature.
Recent numerical simulations and observations of sunspots show a significant amount of opposite polarity magnetic fields within the sunspot penumbra. Most of the opposite polarity fields are associated with convective downflows.
Storm-induced ionospheric density variations are a major concern of near-Earth space environment as they could drastically disrupt satellite navigation and telecommunication systems.
The ionosphere is different from one day to the next, even under geomagnetic and solar quiet condition. The vertical E×B drift at the geomagnetic equator is a key parameter that influences the state of the ionosphere and atmosphere.
Tanausú del Pino Alemán has a PhD in Physics from La Laguna University and the IAC. He is an expert in the applications of the quantum theory of spectral line polarization for the inference of solar magnetic fields.
Mausumi Dikpati is a senior scientist at HAO. She studies the dynamics between Rossby waves and solar activity such as flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
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