The role of prominences in defining the quiescent and dynamic large scale coronal structures
Shadia Habbal  1@  , Miloslav DruckmÜller  2@  , Huw Morgan  3, 4@  
1 : Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii
2680 Woodlawn Drive Honolulu, HI 96822 -  United States
2 : Technical University of Brno
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Technicka 2 Brno, Brno City CZ 61669 -  Czech Republic
3 : Aberystwyth University
Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Institute of Maths and Physics Aberystwyth Wales -  United Kingdom
4 : Institute for Astronomy
2680 Woodlawn Drive Honolulu, HI 96822 -  United States

At present, total solar eclipse observations in white light offer unique insights into coronal structures. With a spatial resolution of 2.5 arcseconds, covering a distance range of a few solar radii above the solar limb, such images are untenable, at present, with any other ground-based or space-based observatory. We show how these images reveal, for the first time, the fundamental role prominences play in defining the static and dynamic properties of coronal structures. These snapshots capture the omnipresence of plasma instabilities, turbulent vortices, rising large scale loops, and propagating waves, many of which seem to be directly linked to prominences. These findings have significant implications for model studies of prominences and large scale coronal structures, with direct impact on our understanding of the source regions of the solar wind.


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