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The partial eruption of a filament channel with bifurcated substructures is investigated using datasets obtained from both ground-based and space-borne facilities. Small-scale flux reconnection/cancellation events in the region triggered the pile-up of ambient magnetic field, observed as bright EUV loops in close proximity of the filament channel. This led to the formation of a V-shaped cusp structure at the site of interaction between the coalesced EUV loops and the filament channel, with the presence of distinct plasmoid structures and associated bidirectional flows. Analysis of imaging data from SDO/AIA further suggests the vertical split of the filament structure into two substructures. The perturbed upper branch of the filament structure rose up and erupted with the onset of an energetic GOES M1.4 flare at 04:30 UT on January 28, 2015. The estimated twist number and squashing factor obtained from nonlinear force free-field extrapolation of the magnetic field data support the vertical split in filament structure with high twist in upper substructure. The loss in equilibrium of the upper branch due to torus instability, implying this as a potential triggering mechanism of the observed partial eruption., Comment: Accepted for Publication in MNRAS

Prominence oscillations are one of interesting phenomena in the solar atmosphere, which can be utilized to infer the embedded magnetic field magnitude. We present here the transverse oscillations of two different prominences located at the East solar limb on 2011 February 11 using the multi-wavebands data of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on-board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite. A prominence eruption was observed towards the east direction with an average speed of ~275 km/s. The eruption is fitted with the combination of a linear and an exponential functions of time. An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wave event was associated with the prominence eruption. This EUV wave triggered the oscillations of both prominences on the East limb. We computed the period of each prominence using the wavelet analysis method. The oscillation period varies from 14 to 22 min. The magnetic field of the prominences was derived, which ranges from 14 to 20 G., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

In this study, we investigate an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wave event on 2010 February 11, which occurred as a limb event from the Earth viewpoint and a disk event from the STEREO--B viewpoint. We use the data obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in various EUV channels. The EUV wave event was launched by a partial prominence eruption. Similar to some EUV wave events in previous works, this EUV wave event contains a faster wave with a speed of $\sim$445$\pm$6 km s$^{-1}$, which we call coronal Moreton wave, and a slower wave with a speed of $\sim$298$\pm$5 km s$^{-1}$, which we call "EIT wave". The coronal Moreton wave is identified as a fast-mode wave and the "EIT wave" is identified as an apparent propagation due to successive field-line stretching. We also observe a stationary front associated with the fast mode EUV wave. This stationary front is explained as mode conversion from the coronal Moreton wave to a slow-mode wave near a streamer., Comment: 08 pages, 08 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Technical activation of newly installed 3.6m optical telescope in March 20l6 paved the way for the routine operation of mechanical systems of telescope and its enclosure at Devasthal. Maintaining and upgrading complex mechanical systems for meeting upcoming technical requirements of telescope, instruments and its enclosure has been an exciting task. Few mechanical systems such as cable anti-twister, telescope cover structure, mechanical locks etc. have been indigenously designed, developed and executed while others are in the pipeline for implementation at site. Telescope’s major mechanical assemblies such as ARISS-octagon, primary mirror cell and secondary mirror cell assembly etc. were disassembled and integrated back in telescope few times for aluminizing missions and for sorting out various problems encountered in the telescope systems. It has served as an important means for training mechanical manpower in various sophisticated assemblies of telescope.

In-house design and development of cost-effective cable twister was undertaken at ARIES for back-end instruments of 3.6[Formula: see text]m telescope at Devasthal site located in central Himalayan region of Uttarakhand state in India. Cable twister was designed to route the critical cables such as cryo/helium flexible lines, electrical cables, optical fiber cables and network cables, etc. of various back-end instruments on axial and side ports of 3.6[Formula: see text]m telescope. Designing a space constrained cable twister passing through only 350[Formula: see text]mm diameter central hole available in telescope pier was a challenging task. Design was analyzed with cables at different twister positions for telescope azimuth rotation from 0 to [Formula: see text]. Flexible design, easy routing of cables and quick detachable characteristic of cable twister make it convenient for routing cables of back-end instruments of 3.6[Formula: see text]m telescope. The twister was economically manufactured in-house at ARIES mechanical workshop, assembled, installed and tested with 3.6[Formula: see text]m telescope. Provision for changing of separator plates having different numbers and sizes of holes makes it versatile for the different types of cables in back-end instruments. This paper presents the economical design, analysis, manufacturing, assembly, installation and testing of cable twister with 3.6[Formula: see text]m telescope.

We present the photospheric Doppler enhancement and Hα brightening of an X-class solar flare from NOAA AR 11748 observed on 2013 May 15. The flare shows two ribbon structure. We observed four velocity enhancement clusters (kernels) associated with the flaring region. Two clusters P & Q of the velocity enhancement that spatially match with the Hα brightening and temporally delayed by 4 min. On the contrary, two other velocity kernels R & S are shifted by 2–3 arcsec from the Hα brightening. We study the localized enhancement in velocity clusters associated with Hα kernels. The time delay in spatially aligned kernels can be interpreted as penetration of proton beam in the solar atmosphere. The shifted velocity enhancement with respect to Hα kernels can be explained by the coupling of energy driven by Lorentz force.

We present and discuss here the observations of a small long duration GOES B-class flare associated with a quiescent filament eruption, a global EUV wave and a CME on 2011 May 11. The event was well observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), GONG H α , STEREO and Culgoora spectrograph. As the filament erupted, ahead of the filament we observed the propagation of EIT wave fronts, as well as two flare ribbons on both sides of the polarity inversion line (PIL) on the solar surface. The observations show the co-existence of two types of EUV waves, i.e., a fast and a slow one. A type II radio burst with up to the third harmonic component was also associated with this event. The evolution of photospheric magnetic field showed flux emergence and cancellation at the filament site before its eruption.

We present results of a search for variable stars in a region of the globular cluster NGC 4147 based on photometric observations with 4k x 4k CCD imager mounted at the axial port of the recently installed 3.6 m Devasthal optical telescope at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital, India. We performed time series photometry of NGC 4147 in V and R bands, and identified 42 periodic variables in the region of NGC 4147, 28 of which have been detected for the first time. Seventeen variable stars are located within the half light radius $\lesssim$ 0.48 arcmin, of which 10 stars are newly identified variables. Two of 10 variables are located within the core radius $\lesssim$ 0.09 arcmin. Based on the location in the $V/(V-R)$ colour magnitude diagram and variability characteristics, 7, 8, 5 and 1 newly identified probable member variables are classified as RRc, EA/E, EW and SX Phe, respectively. The metallicity of NGC 4147 estimated from light curves of RRab and RRc stars with the help of Fourier decomposition is found to be characteristics of Oosterhoff II. The distance derived using light curves of RRab stars is consistent with that obtained from the observed $V/(V-R)$ colour-magnitude diagram., Comment: 20 pages, 13 Figures, accepted for publication in Astronomical Journal

In this study, we present the observations of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) waves associated with an M6.5 flare on 2013 April 11. The event was observed by Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in different EUV channels. The flare was also associated with a halo CME and type II radio bursts. We observed both fast and slow components of the EUV wave. The speed of the fast component, which is identified as a fast-mode MHD wave, varies in the range from 600 to 640 km s^-1 , whereas the speed of the slow-component is ~140 km s^-1 . We observed an unusual phenomenon that, as the fast-component EUV wave passes through two successive magnetic quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs), two stationary wave fronts are formed locally. We propose that part of the outward-propagating fast-mode EUV wave is converted into slow-mode magnetohydrodynamic waves, which are trapped in local magnetic field structures, forming successive stationary fronts. Along the other direction, the fast-component EUV wave also creates oscillations in a coronal loop lying ~225 Mm away from the flare site. We have computed the energy of the EUV wave to be of the order of 10^20 J., Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, 1 table, Accepted for publication in Solar Physics

We analyze multi-wavelength and multi-viewpoint observations of a helically twisted plasma jet formed during a confined filament eruption on 10-11 April 2013. Given a rather large scale event with its high spatial and temporal resolution observations, it allows us to clearly understand some new physical details about the formation and triggering mechanism of twisting jet. We identify a pre-existing flux rope associated with a sinistral filament, which was observed several days before the event. The confined eruption of the filament within a null point topology, also known as an Eiffel tower (or inverted-Y) magnetic field configuration results in the formation of a twisted jet after the magnetic reconnection near a null point. The sign of helicity in the jet is found to be the same as that of the sign of helicity in the filament. Untwisting motion of the reconnected magnetic field lines gives rise to the accelerating plasma along the jet axis. The event clearly shows the twist injection from the pre-eruptive magnetic field to the jet.

The most probable initial magnetic configuration of a CME is a flux rope consisting of twisted field lines which fill the whole volume of a dark coronal cavity. The flux ropes can be in stable equilibrium in the coronal magnetic field for weeks and even months, but suddenly they loose their stability and erupt with high speed. Their transition to the unstable phase depends on the parameters of the flux rope (i.e., total electric current, twist, mass loading etc.), as well as on the properties of the ambient coronal magnetic field. One of the major governing factors is the vertical gradient of the coronal magnetic field which is estimated as decay index (n). Cold dense prominence material can be collected in the lower parts of the helical flux tubes. Filaments are therefore good tracers of the flux ropes in the corona, which become visible long before the beginning of the eruption. The perspectives of the filament eruptions and following CMEs can be estimated by the comparison of observed filament heights with calculated decay index distributions. The present paper reviews the formation of magnetic flux ropes, their stable and unstable phases, eruption conditions, and also discusses their physical implications in the solar corona., 27 pages, 14 figures; to appear in Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy (Special Issue; Eds: V. Fedun, A.K. Srivastava, R. Erdelyi, J.C. Pandey)

Correction to: Astrophys Space Sci (2017) 362:10 DOI There was an error in the sixth author’s name in the original publication. It is correctly shown here.

In this study, we present the investigation of eleven recurring solar jets originated from two different sites (site 1 and site 2) close to each other (~ 11 Mm) in the NOAA active region (AR) 12035 during 15--16 April 2014. The jets were observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) telescope onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite. Two jets were observed by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, India telescope in H-alpha. On 15 April flux emergence is important in site 1 while on 16 April flux emergence and cancellation mechanisms are involved in both sites. The jets of both sites have parallel trajectories and move to the south with a speed between 100 and 360 km/s. We observed some connection between the two sites with some transfer of brightening. The jets of site 2 occurred during the second day and have a tendency to move towards the jets of site 1 and merge with them. We conjecture that the slippage of the jets could be explained by the complex topology of the region with the presence of a few low-altitude null points and many quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs), which could intersect with one another., 27 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Physics

Context. A subclass of broad extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray jets, called blowout jets, have become a topic of research since they could be the link between standard collimated jets and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Aims. Our aim is to understand the origin of a series of broad jets, some of which are accompanied by flares and associated with narrow and jet-like CMEs. Methods. We analyze observations of a series of recurrent broad jets observed in AR 10484 on 21?24 October 2003. In particular, one of them occurred simultaneously with an M2.4 flare on 23 October at 02:41 UT (SOLA2003-10-23). Both events were observed by the ARIES Hα Solar Tower-Telescope, TRACE, SOHO, and RHESSI instruments. The flare was very impulsive and followed by a narrow CME. A local force-free model of AR 10484 is the basis to compute its topology. We find bald patches (BPs) at the flare site. This BP topology is present for at least two days before to events. Large-scale field lines, associated with the BPs, represent open loops. This is confirmed by a global potential free source surface (PFSS) model. Following the brightest leading edge of the Hα and EUV jet emission, we can temporarily associate these emissions with a narrow CME. Results. Considering their characteristics, the observed broad jets appear to be of the blowout class. As the most plausible scenario, we propose that magnetic reconnection could occur at the BP separatrices forced by the destabilization of a continuously reformed flux rope underlying them. The reconnection process could bring the cool flux-rope material into the reconnected open field lines driving the series of recurrent blowout jets and accompanying CMEs. Conclusions. Based on a model of the coronal field, we compute the AR 10484 topology at the location where flaring and blowout jets occurred from 21 to 24 October 2003. This topology can consistently explain the origin of these events. Fil: Chandra, R.. Kumaun University; India Fil: Mandrini, Cristina Hemilse. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Schmieder, B.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; Francia Fil: Joshi, B.. Udaipur Solar Observatory; India Fil: Cristiani, Germán Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Cremades Fernandez, Maria Hebe. Universidad Tecnologica Nacional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Pariat, E.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; Francia Fil: Nuevo, Federico Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Srivastava, A. K.. Indian Institute Of Technology; India Fil: Uddi, W.. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences; India

Emergence of complex magnetic flux in the solar active regions lead to several observational effects such as a change in sunspot area and flux embalance in photospheric magnetograms. The flux emergence also results in twisted magnetic field lines that add to free energy content. The magnetic field configuration of these active regions relax to near potential-field configuration after energy release through solar flares and coronal mass ejections. In this paper, we study the relation of flare productivity of active regions with their evolution of magnetic flux emergence, flux imbalance and free energy content. We use the sunspot area and number for flux emergence study as they contain most of the concentrated magnetic flux in the active region. The magnetic flux imbalance and the free energy are estimated using the HMI/SDO magnetograms and Virial theorem method. We find that the active regions that undergo large changes in sunspot area are most flare productive. The active regions become flary when the free energy content exceeds 50% of the total energy. Although, the flary active regions show magnetic flux imbalance, it is hard to predict flare activity based on this parameter alone.

In this work, we present observations and interpretations of recurrent extreme ultraviolet (EUV) jets that occurred between 2012 July 1 21:00 UT and 2012 July 2 10:00 UT from the western edge of the NOAA active region 11513. Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA), SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (SDO/HMI) and Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) observations have been used for the present study. Observations as well as potential-field source-surface (PFSS) extrapolation suggest an open field configuration in the vicinity of the jet activity area. 18 EUV jets were observed from the western edge of the active region along the open field channel. All the jet events appeared to be non-homologous and show different morphological properties and evolution. Some of the jets were small and narrow in size while the others were huge and wide. The average speed of these jets ranges from ${\sim}47\mbox{ to }{\sim}308~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ . SDO/AIA 171 A intensity profiles at the base of these jets show bumps corresponding to each jet, which is an evidence of recurrent magnetic reconnections. The magnetic field observation at the foot points of the jets revealed a very complex and dynamic magnetic activity which includes flux emergence, flux cancellation, dynamic motions, merging, separation, etc. We suggest that the recurrent jets are the result of recurrent magnetic reconnections among the various emerging bipolar fields themselves as well as with the open fields.

Initially the primary mirror of the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope is uncoated polished zerodur glass supplied by Lytkarino Optical Glass Factory, Russia/Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems, Belgium. In order to do the aluminium coating on the primary mirror the coating plant including washing unit is installed near the telescope (extension building of telescope) by Hind High Vacuum (HHV) Bangalore, India. Magnetron sputtering technique is used for the coating. Several coating trials are done before the primary mirror coating; samples are tested for reflectivity, uniformity, adhesivity and finally commissioned. The primary mirror is cleaned, coated by ARIES. We present here a brief description of the coating plant installation, Mirror cleaning and coating procedures and the testing results of the samples.

A 3.6m aperture telescope has been installed at Devasthal recently and once commissioned this would be the largest optical telescope in India. The integration of the telescope was carried out by lifting the components from inside the telescope building. To make this possible, the position of the telescope was shifted by 1.85m from the dome centre at an angle of 255 degree with respect to the north. This posed a serious challenge in synchronizing the dome with the telescope movement. In this contribution we will be presenting the synchronization algorithm and dome control software.

We present and interpret the observations of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) waves associated with a filament eruption on 2011 May 11.The filament eruption also produces a small B-class two ribbon flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME). The event is observed by the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) with high spatio-temporal resolution data recorded by Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). As the filament erupts, we observe two types of EUV waves (slow and fast) propagating outwards. The faster EUV wave has a propagation velocity of ~ 500 km/s and the slower EUV wave has an initial velocity of ~ 120 km/s. We report for the first time that not only the slower EUV wave stops at a magnetic separatrix to form bright stationary fronts, but also the faster EUV wave transits a magnetic separatrix, leaving another stationary EUV front behind., 24 pages, 6 Figures, accepted for the publication in Astrophysical Journal

We present the multiwavelength observations of a flux rope that was trying to erupt from NOAA AR 11045 and the associated M-class solar flare on 12 February 2010 using space-based and ground-based observations from TRACE, STEREO, SOHO/MDI, Hinode/XRT, and BBSO. While the flux rope was rising from the active region, an M1.1/2F class flare was triggered near one of its footpoints. We suggest that the flare triggering was due to the reconnection of a rising flux rope with the surrounding low-lying magnetic loops. The flux rope reached a projected height of ≈0.15R ⊙ with a speed of ≈90 km s−1 while the soft X-ray flux enhanced gradually during its rise. The flux rope was suppressed by an overlying field, and the filled plasma moved towards the negative polarity field to the west of its activation site. We found the first observational evidence of the initial suppression of a flux rope due to a remnant filament visible both at chromospheric and coronal temperatures that evolved a couple of days earlier at the same location in the active region. SOHO/MDI magnetograms show the emergence of a bipole ≈12 h prior to the flare initiation. The emerged negative polarity moved towards the flux rope activation site, and flare triggering near the photospheric polarity inversion line (PIL) took place. The motion of the negative polarity region towards the PIL helped in the build-up of magnetic energy at the flare and flux rope activation site. This study provides unique observational evidence of a rising flux rope that failed to erupt due to a remnant filament and overlying magnetic field, as well as associated triggering of an M-class flare.

We study the solar sources of an intense geomagnetic storm of solar cycle 23 that occurred on 20 November 2003, based on ground- and space-based multiwavelength observations. The coronal mass ejections (CMEs) responsible for the above geomagnetic storm originated from the super-active region NOAA 10501. We investigate the H-alpha observations of the flare events made with a 15 cm solar tower telescope at ARIES, Nainital, India. The propagation characteristics of the CMEs have been derived from the three-dimensional images of the solar wind (i.e., density and speed) obtained from the interplanetary scintillation data, supplemented with other ground- and space-based measurements. The TRACE, SXI and H-alpha observations revealed two successive ejections (of speeds ~350 and ~100 km/s), originating from the same filament channel, which were associated with two high speed CMEs (~1223 and ~1660 km/s, respectively). These two ejections generated propagating fast shock waves (i.e., fast drifting type II radio bursts) in the corona. The interaction of these CMEs along the Sun-Earth line has led to the severity of the storm. According to our investigation, the interplanetary medium consisted of two merging magnetic clouds (MCs) that preserved their identity during their propagation. These magnetic clouds made the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) southward for a long time, which reconnected with the geomagnetic field, resulting the super-storm (Dst_peak=-472 nT) on the Earth., 24 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication in Solar Physics

This paper presents the study of normalized north–south asymmetry, cumulative normalized north–south asymmetry and cumulative difference indices of sunspot areas, solar active prominences (at total, low (⩽40°) and high (⩾50°) latitudes) and Hα solar flares from 1964 to 2008 spanning the solar cycles 20–23. Three different statistical methods are used to obtain the asymmetric behavior of different solar activity features. Hemispherical distribution of activity features shows the dominance of activities in northern hemisphere for solar cycle 20 and in southern hemisphere for solar cycles 21–23 excluding solar active prominences at high latitudes. Cumulative difference index of solar activity features in each solar cycle is observed at the maximum of the respective solar cycle suggesting a cyclic behavior of approximately one solar cycle length. Asymmetric behavior of all activity features except solar active prominences at high latitudes hints at the long term periodic trend of eight solar cycles. North–south asymmetries of SAP (H) express the specific behavior of solar activity at high solar latitudes and its behavior in long-time scale is distinctly opposite to those of other activity features. Our results show that in most cases the asymmetry is statistically highly significant meaning thereby that the asymmetries are real features in the N–S distribution of solar activity features.

It has been observed by various ground and space based solar missions that magnetic reconnection occurs frequently in the photosphere-chromosphere region as well as in the solar corona. The purpose of this article is to examine the process of reconnection in thin current sheet formed between two oppositely directed magnetic flux tubes in photospheric-chromospheric region. Using the data of different atmospheric models for the solar photosphere and chromosphere, we have estimated the rate of magnetic reconnection in terms of Alfvenic Mach number, growth rate of tearing mode, island length scales, and energy dissipation rate necessary to heat the chromospheric plasma. It is found that magnetic Reynolds number for the current sheet in the chromosphere varies from 1.14 × 103 to 7.14 × 106 which indicates that the field lines in the photosphere and chromosphere reconnect with speed, that is, 0.00034 to 0.0297 times the Alfven speed. Frequency of the MHD waves generated in the chromosphere reconnection region is of the order of 100 Hz, so these high-frequency waves may be the sources of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration.

We analyze multi-wavelength data of a M7.9/1N class solar flare which occurred on 27 April, 2006 from AR NOAA 10875. GOES soft X-ray images provide the most likely signature of two interacting loops and their reconnection, which triggers the solar flare. TRACE 195 A images also reveal the loop-loop interaction and the formation of `X' points with converging motion (~30 km/s) at the reconnection site in-between this interacting loop system. This provides the evidence of progressive reconnection and flare maximization at the interaction site in the active region. The absence of type III radio burst during this time period indicates no opening of magnetic field lines during the flare energy release, which implies only the change of field lines connectivity/orientation during the loop-loop interaction and reconnection process. The Ondrejov dynamic radio spectrum shows an intense decimetric (DCIM) radio burst (2.5--4.5 GHz, duration ~3 min) during flare initiation, which reveals the signature of particle acceleration from the reconnection site during loop-loop interaction. The double peak structures at 4.9 and 8.8 GHz provide the most likely confirmatory signature of the loop-loop interaction at the flare site in the active region. RHESSI hard X-ray images also show the loop-top and footpoint sources of the corresponding two loop system and their coalescence during the flare maximum, which act like the current carrying flux-tubes with resultant opposite magnetic fields and the net force of attraction. We also suggest that the shear motion/rotation of the footpoint of the smaller loop, which is anchored in the opposite polarity spot, may be responsible for the flare energy buildup and then its release due to the loop-loop interaction., Comment: 42 pages; 16 figures; The Astrophysical Journal; Version 2; Some typos and references are corrected

We analyze Hα images, soft X-ray profiles, magnetograms, extreme ultra-violet images and, radio observations of two homologous flare events (M1.4/1N and M9.6/2B) on 2003 November 20 in the active region NOAA 10501 and study properties of reconnection between twisted filament systems, energy release, and associated launch of coronal mass ejections. During both events twisted filaments observed in Hα approached each other and initiated the flare processes. However, the second event showed the formation of cusp as the filaments interacted. The rotation of sunspots of opposite polarities, inferred from the magnetograms likely powered the twisted filaments and injection of helicity. Along the current sheet between these two opposite polarity sunspots, the shear was maximum, which could have caused the twist in the filament. At the time of interaction between filaments, the reconnection took place and flare emission in thermal and nonthermal energy ranges attained the maximum. The radio signatures revealed the opening of field lines resulting from the reconnection. The Hα images and radio data provide the inflow speed leading to reconnection and the scale size of the particle acceleration region. The first event produced a narrow and slow CME, whereas the later one was associated with a fast full halo CME. The halo CME signatures observed between the Sun and Earth using white-light and scintillation images and in situ measurements indicated the magnetic energy utilized in the expansion and propagation. The magnetic cloud signature at the Earth confirmed the flux rope ejected at the time of filament interaction and reconnection.

The active region NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) AR 10486 which appeared on the solar disc in 2003 October produced a lot of space weather related activity. Here, we report on the co-spatial evolution of the photospheric Doppler enhancements and the chromospheric Hα flare ribbons observed during the 4B/X17.2 class solar flare of 2003 October 28 in this active region. These velocity enhancements exactly match the Hα brightness enhancements in space, and are delayed by approximately 1 min in time. Hα brightness attains a maximum nearly at the same time as the peak seen in light curves in high-energy emission observed by KORONAS (Kuznetsov et al. 2006).

The eruption of limb prominence on 21 April 2001 associated with two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is investigated. Hα images reveal two large-scale eruptions (a prominence body and a southern foot-point arch), both showing helical internal structure. These two eruptions are found to be spatially and temporally associated with the corresponding CMEs. The kinematics and the study of geometrical parameters of the prominence show that the eruption was quite impulsive (with peak acceleration ≈ 470 m s− 2) and has taken place for relatively low pitch angle of helical threads, not exceeding tan θ ≈ 1.2. The stability criteria of the prominence are revisited in the light of the model of Vršnak (1990, Solar Phys. 129, 295) and the analysis shows that the eruption violates the instability criteria of that model. Finally, the energy stored in the prominence circuit and the energies (kinetic, potential, and magnetic) of the associated CMEs are estimated and it is found that there was enough energy stored in the prominence to drive the two CMEs.

We present the H$\alpha$ observations from ARIES, Nainital of a compact and impulsive solar flare occurred on March 10, 2001 and associated with a CME. We have also analysed HXT, SXT/Yohkoh observations as well as radio observations from Nobeyama Radio Observatory to derive the energetics and dynamics of this impulsive flare. We co-align the H$\alpha$, SXR, HXR, MW and magnetogram images within the instrumental spatial resolution limit. We detect a single HXR source in this flare, which is found spatially associated with one of the H$\alpha$ bright kernel. The unusual feature of HXR and H$\alpha$ sources, observed for the first time, is the rotation during the impulsive phase in clockwise direction. We propose that the rotation may be due to asymmetric progress of the magnetic reconnection site or may be due to the change of peak point of the electric field. In MW emission we found two sources, one is main source which is at the main flare site and another is remote source located in South-West direction. It appears that the remote source is formed by the impact of accelerated energetic electrons from the main flare site. From the spatial co-relation of multi-wavelength images of th, Comment: Accepted in Solar Physics, 20 pages, 12 Figures

We observed 4B/X17.2 flare in Hα from super-active region NOAA 10486 at ARIES, Nainital. This is one of the largest flares of current solar cycle 23, which occurred near the Sun’s center and produced extremely energetic emission almost at all wavelengths from γ-ray to radio-waves. The flare is associated with a bright/fast full-halo earth directed CME, strong type II, type III and type IV radio bursts, an intense proton event and GLE. This flare is well observed by SOHO, RHESSI and TRACE. Our Hα observations show the stretching/de-twisting and eruption of helically twisted S shaped (sigmoid) filament in the south-west direction of the active region with bright shock front followed by rapid increase in intensity and area of the gigantic flare. The flare shows almost similar evolution in Hα, EUV and UV. We measure the speed of Hα ribbon separation and the mean value is ∼ 70 km s-1. This is used together with photospheric magnetic field to infer a magnetic reconnection rate at three HXR sources at the flare maximum. In this paper, we also discuss the energetics of active region filament, flare and associated CME.

Here we present a preliminary analysis of a helical eruptive prominence at the east limb of the Sun on 21 April 2001. Unusually this eruption is associated with a double CME. We have tried to study the morphology of the event, energy budget of the prominence and associated CMEs. Our analysis shows that the prominence and first CME started simultaneously from the limb and prominence carries sufficient energy to feed both the CMEs. Moreover, it is also concluded that CMEs are magnetically driven and internally powered.

We present the results of a detailed analysis of multi-wavelength observations of a very impulsive solar flare 1B/M6.7, which occurred on 10 March, 2001 in NOAA AR 9368 (N27 W42). The observations show that the flare is very impulsive with very hard spectrum in HXR that reveal non-thermal emission was most dominant. On the other hand this flare also produced type II radio burst and coronal mass ejections (CME), which are not general characteristics for impulsive flares. In H$\alpha$ we observed the bright mass ejecta (BME) followed by drak mass ejecta (DME). Based on the consistence of the onset times and direction of BME and CME, we conclude that these two phenomena are closely associated. It is inferred that the energy build-up took place due to photospheric reconnection between emerging positive parasitic polarity and predominant negative polarity, which resulted as a consequence of flux cancellation. The shear increased to $>80^o$ due to further emergence of positive parasitic polarity causing strongly enhanced cancellation of flux. It appears that such enhanced magnetic flux cancellation in a strongly sheared region triggered the impulsive flare., Comment: 14 pages, 8 Figures, Accepted for the publication in Solar Physics

We present Hα CCD observations of three small-to-medium-size two-ribbon flares observed in the giant AR 9433 on 24 April 2001. Flare observations at other associated wavelengths (e.g., soft X-rays (SXR), hard X-rays (HXR), microwaves (MW)) obtained from archives are also presented and compared. We have tested the Neupert effect for the most energetic third flare. The flare observations are in agreement with the thick-target model. In the case of this flare the HXR emitting electrons appears to be the heating source of SXR and Hα emissions. The flares are also studied in EUV and UV emissions using TRACE data. We discuss the complexity of the magnetic field using SOHO/MDI magnetograms. The flares are observed to occur in both (f/p) polarity regions in highly sheared magnetic field with emerging flux regions and MMFs.

Based on an extensive site survey conducted during 1980-1990 in the Shivalik Hills of the Central Himalayan range, a promising site Devasthal has been identied. The longitude and latitude of Devasthal Peak are 79 41 0 Ea nd 29 23 0 N. It is situated at an altitude of 2540 m and about 50 km by road from Nainital towards East. The surroundings of Devasthal are thinly populated and it is logistically well suited for establishing modern optical observational facilities. The prevailing wind direc- tion at Devasthal is NW. For a large fraction of the night time, variation in the ambient temperature was less than a degree and wind speed was less than 10 m/s. During spectroscopic nights (> 200 in a year) relative humidity is less than 80% for about 70% of the time. During 1997 and 1998 seeing measurements using dierential image motion techniques have been carried out close to ground at two locations namely Site 1 and Site 2 in Devasthal. Our ob- servations for Site 1 carried over 88 nights yield a median seeing value of 1

In this paper we present complete two-dimensional measurements of the observed brightness of the 9th November 1990Hαflare, using a PDS microdensitometer scanner and image processing software MIDAS. The resulting isophotal contour maps, were used to describe morphological-cum-temporal behaviour of the flare and also the kernels of the flare. Correlation of theHαflare with SXR and MW radiations were also studied.

In this paper we present CCD observations between February 14–20, 1994 and analysis of the giant twisted filament evolved in the active region NOAA 7671. The dynamic eruption of the filament was accompanied by a major flare (3B/M4), CME, long duration type II, IV radio bursts, great microwave bursts, a long duration soft X-ray burst, SIDs, strong geomagnetic storms and a very energetic proton flare. We analysed and estimated the twist, length, volume, mass and energy associated with filament system between February 14 and 20, 1994. The present study shows that the magnetic energy required for the solar flare came from the filament system associated with the solar flare and associated phenomena.

We have devloped and tested an instrument based on a fibrebonded CCD camera for observations of solar prominences. To record faint prominences we have used a solid aluminized glass cone which reflects bright solar disc light outside the telescope tube. The prominence monitor is installed at the back end of a 15-cm f/15 coude refractor telescope after the H-alpha filter. This prominence monitor is capable of recording prominence images at an interval of 5 sec, but during prominence eruptions it can record images at an interval of 2 sec.

We study the temporal, spatial and spectral evolution of the M1.8 flare, which occurred in NOAA AR 11195 (S17E31) on 22 April 2011, and explore the underlying physical processes during the precursors and their relation to the main phase. The study of the source morphology using the composite images in 131 {\deg}A wavelength observed by the SDO/AIA and 6-14 keV revealed a multiloop system that destabilized systematically during the precursor and main phases. In contrast, HXR emission (20-50 keV) was absent during the precursor phase, appearing only from the onset of the impulsive phase in the form of foot-points of emitting loop/s. This study has also revealed the heated loop-top prior to the loop emission, although no accompanying foot-point sources were observed during the precursor phase. We estimate the flare plasma parameters viz. T, EM, power-law index, and photon turn-over energy by forward fitting RHESSI spectral observations. The energy released in the precursor phase was thermal and constituted ~1 per cent of the total energy released during the flare. The study of morphological evolution of the filament in conjunction with synthesized T and EM maps has been carried out which reveals (a) Partial filament eruption prior to the onset of the precursor emission, (b) Heated dense plasma over the polarity inversion line and in the vicinity of the slowly rising filament during the precursor phase. Based on the implications from multi-wavelength observations, we propose a scheme to unify the energy release during the precursor and main phase emissions in which, the precursor phase emission has been originated via conduction front formed due to the partial filament eruption. Next, the heated leftover S-shaped filament has undergone slow rise and heating due to magnetic reconnection and finally erupted to produce emission during the impulsive and gradual phases., Comment: 16 Pages, 11 Figures, Accepted for Publication in MNRAS Main Journal

We use multiwavelength data from space and ground based instruments to study the solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on January 23, 2012 that were responsible for one of the largest solar energetic particle (SEP) events of solar cycle 24. The eruptions consisting of two fast CMEs (1400 km/s and 2000 km/s) and M-class flares that occurred in active region 11402 located at N28 W36. The two CMEs occurred in quick successions, so they interacted very close to the Sun. The second CME caught up with the first one at a distance of 11-12 Rsun. The CME interaction may be responsible for the elevated SEP flux and significant changes in the intensity profile of the SEP event. The compound CME resulted in a double-dip moderate geomagnetic storm (Dst = -73 nT). The two dips are due to the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field in the shock sheath and the ICME intervals. One possible reason for the lack of a stronger geomagnetic storm may be that the ICME delivered a glancing blow to Earth., 29 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in ADSPR

We have observed an eruptive prominence at the east solar limb on 25 January 1991 which started earlier than 0623 UT and was associated with a limb flare (S16 E90) of class 1B/ X10.0. We have recorded a huge mass ejection in the corona by the limb flare associated eruptive prominence. The eruptive prominence ejected a part of the loop in the corona with maximum speed of about 1280 km/sec. The ejected material attain height upto 150,000 km in the corona and finally faded/disappeared in the corona. During the ascending phase of the prominence material in the corona there was a unscrewing of the loop system associated with the eruptive prominence. The type II, III, and IV radio bursts were also reported by a number of Radio Observatories during observation of the eruptive prominence. The high flux of sudden ionospheric disturbances and the solar radio emissions on fixed frequencies (245-80000 MHz) were also recorded. The eruptive prominence associated with limb flare also shows increased proton flux (>10 MeV) during its occurence. The flare was classified as X10.0 flare. In this paper we have analysed the observed data and compared it with the theoretical model of the solar flare.

We present observations of interactions between the two filament channels of different chiralities and associated dynamics that occurred during 2014 April 18 -- 20. While two flux ropes of different helicity with parallel axial magnetic fields can only undergo a bounce interaction when they are brought together, the observations at the first glance show that the heated plasma is moving from one filament channel to the other. The SDO/AIA 171 A observations and the PFSS magnetic field extrapolation reveal the presence of fan-spine magnetic configuration over the filament channels with a null point located above them. Three different events of filament activations, partial eruptions, and associated filament channel interactions have been observed. The activation initiated in one filament channel seems to propagate along the neighbour filament channel. We believe that the activation and partial eruption of the filaments bring the field lines of flux ropes containing them closer to the null point and trigger the magnetic reconnection between them and the fan-spine magnetic configuration. As a result, the hot plasma moves along the outer spine line toward the remote point. Utilizing the present observations, for the first time we have discussed how two different-chirality filament channels can interact and show interrelation., Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, Accepted for Publication in ApJ

We present a multi-wavelength study of recurrent surges observed in Hα, UV (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/EIT), and Radio (Learmonth, Australia) from the super-active region NOAA 10484 on 2003 October 25. Several bright structures visible in Hα and UV corresponding to subflares are also observed at the base of each surge. Type III bursts are triggered and RHESSI X-ray sources are evident with surge activity. The major surge consists of bunches of ejective paths forming a fan-shaped region with an angular size of (≈65°) during its maximum phase. The ejection speed reaches up to ~200 km s–1. The SOHO/Michelson Doppler Imager magnetograms reveal that a large dipole emerges from the east side of the active region on 2003 October 18-20, a few days before the surges. On 2003 October 25, the major sunspots were surrounded by "moat regions" with moving magnetic features (MMFs). Parasitic fragmented positive polarities were pushed by the ambient dispersion motion of the MMFs and annihilated with negative polarities at the borders of the moat region of the following spot to produce flares and surges. A topology analysis of the global Sun using Potential Field Source Surface shows that the fan structures visible in the EIT 171 A images follow magnetic field lines connecting the present active region to a preceding active region in the southeast. Radio observations of Type III bursts indicate that they are coincident with the surges, suggesting that magnetic reconnection is the driver mechanism. The magnetic energy released by the reconnection is transformed into plasma heating and provides the kinetic energy for the ejections. A lack of a radio signature in the high corona suggests that the surges are confined to follow the closed field lines in the fans. We conclude that these cool surges may have some local heating effects in the closed loops, but probably play a minor role in global coronal heating and the surge material does not escape to the solar wind.

We study the active region NOAA 10960, which produces two flare events (B5.0, M8.9) on 04 June 2007. We find the observational signature of right handed helical twists in the loop system associated with this active region. The first B5.0 flare starts with the activation of helical twist showing ~3 turns. However, after ~20 minutes another helical twist (with ~2 turns) appears, which triggers M8.9 flare. Both helical structures were closely associated with a small positive polarity sunspot in the AR. We interpret these observations as evidence of kink instability, which triggers the recurrent solar flares.

We present a multi-wavelength analysis of a long duration white-light solar flare (M8.9/3B) event that occurred on 4 June 2007 from NOAA AR 10960. The flare was observed by several spaceborne instruments, namely SOHO/MDI, Hinode/SOT, TRACE and STEREO/SECCHI. The flare was initiated near a small, positive-polarity, satellite sunspot at the centre of the AR, surrounded by opposite-polarity field regions. MDI images of the AR show considerable amount of changes in a small positive-polarity sunspot of delta configuration during the flare event. SOT/G-band (4305 A) images of the sunspot also suggest the rapid evolution of the positive-polarity sunspot with highly twisted penumbral filaments before the flare event, which were oriented in the counterclockwise direction. It shows the change in orientation and also remarkable disappearance of twisted penumbral filaments (~35-40%) and enhancement in umbral area (~45-50%) during the decay phase of the flare. TRACE and SECCHI observations reveal the successive activations of two helical twisted structures associated with this sunspot, and the corresponding brightening in the chromosphere as observed by the time-sequence images of SOT/Ca II H line (3968 A). The secondary-helical twisted structure is found to be associated with the M8.9 flare event. The brightening starts 6-7 min prior to the flare maximum with the appearance of secondary helical-twisted structure. The flare intensity maximizes as this structure moves away from the AR. This twisted flux-tube associated with the flare triggering, is found to be failed in eruption. The location of the flare is found to coincide with the activation site of the helical twisted structures. We conclude that the activations of successive helical twists in the magnetic flux tubes/ropes plays a crucial role in the energy build-up process and triggering of M-class solar flare without a CME., 22 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for Publication in Solar Physics

We present and interpret observations of two morphologically homologous flares that occurred in active region (AR) NOAA 10501 on 20 November 2003. Both flares displayed four homologous H-alpha ribbons and were both accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The central flare ribbons were located at the site of an emerging bipole in the center of the active region. The negative polarity of this bipole fragmented in two main pieces, one rotating around the positive polarity by ~ 110 deg within 32 hours. We model the coronal magnetic field and compute its topology, using as boundary condition the magnetogram closest in time to each flare. In particular, we calculate the location of quasiseparatrix layers (QSLs) in order to understand the connectivity between the flare ribbons. Though several polarities were present in AR 10501, the global magnetic field topology corresponds to a quadrupolar magnetic field distribution without magnetic null points. For both flares, the photospheric traces of QSLs are similar and match well the locations of the four H-alpha ribbons. This globally unchanged topology and the continuous shearing by the rotating bipole are two key factors responsible for the flare homology. However, our analyses also indicate that different magnetic connectivity domains of the quadrupolar configuration become unstable during each flare, so that magnetic reconnection proceeds differently in both events., Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, Solar Physics (accepted)

The geoeffective magnetic cloud (MC) of 20 November 2003, has been associated to the 18 November 2003, solar active events in previous studies. In some of these, it was estimated that the magnetic helicity carried by the MC had a positive sign, as well as its solar source, active region (AR) NOAA 10501. In this paper we show that the large-scale magnetic field of AR 10501 had a negative helicity sign. Since coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are one of the means by which the Sun ejects magnetic helicity excess into the interplanetary space, the signs of magnetic helicity in the AR and MC should agree. Therefore, this finding contradicts what is expected from magnetic helicity conservation. However, using for the first time correct helicity density maps to determine the spatial distribution of magnetic helicity injection, we show the existence of a localized flux of positive helicity in the southern part of AR 10501. We conclude that positive helicity was ejected from this portion of the AR leading to the observed positive helicity MC., Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, accepted in Solar Physics

We observed two surges in H˛ from the super-active region NOAA 10484. The first surge was associated with an SF/C4.3 class flare. The second one was a major surge associated with a SF/C3.9 flare. This surge was also observedwith SOHO/EIT in 195 A and NoRH in 17 GHz, and showed similar evolution in these wavelengths. The major surge had an ejective funnel-shaped spray structure with fast expansion in linear (about 1:2 × 105 km) and angular (about 65°) size during its maximum phase. The mass motion of the surge was along open magnetic field lines, with average velocity about 100km s−1. The de-twisting motion of the surge reveals relaxation of sheared and twisted magnetic flux. The SOHO/MDI magnetograms reveal that the surges occurred at the site of companion sunspots where positive flux emerged, converged, and canceled against surrounding field of opposite polarity. Our observations support magnetic reconnection models for the surges and jets.

An X3.4-class flare occurred in AR NOAA 10930 on 13 December 2006 during 02:12–08:00UT, peaking at 02:50UT. We examine the flaring region during the late decay phase, analyzing raster data obtained with the EUV imaging spectrometer (EIS) onboard Hinode. The scanning started at 06:16:42UT and ended at 06:20:56UT. The 2″ wide slit was centered at X D 272:59″ and Y = −130.19″. The scan covered 800″ in X and 200″ in Y, with 1″x1″ binning. We applied standard EIS data reduction procedures and fitted spectral lines by single gaussian to obtain intensity maps, centroid Doppler velocity maps, and full width at half maximum (FWHM) maps for the strongest coronal line, Fe XII 195.12 A, during the flare decay phase. The flaring region showed maximum downflow velocity ≈23 km s−1, while the maximum upflow velocity was ≈59 km s−1.

This paper presents a statistical analysis of Soft X-ray (SXR) flares during the period January 1976 to December 2007 covering solar cycles (SCs) 21, 22, and 23. We have analysed north-south (N-S) and east-west (E-W) asymmetry of SXR at low (less than equal to 40 degree), high (greater than equal to 50 degree) and total latitudes and center meridian distances (CMDs) respectively. We have also presented the N-S and E-W asymmetry of different intensity classes (B, C, M, and X) during the period of investigation. A slight southern and eastern excess is found after analysis during SC 21, 22, and 23. We found that the annual N-S and E-W hemispheric asymmetry at low latitudes and CMDs is the same as total latitudes and CMDs respectively. E-W asymmetry is different at low and high CMDs. Our statistical result shows that N-S asymmetry is statistically more significant than E-W asymmetry. Total SXR flare activity during SC 23 is high compared to SC 21 and 22. The B class flare activity is higher for SC 23 where as C, M and X class activities are higher for SC 21. We have also analysied the flare evolution parameters, i.e. duration, rise time, decay time and event asymmetry for total SXR as well as for different classes for last three SCs. The duration, rise time and decay time increase with increasing intensity class. On analysing event asymmetry indices, we found more positive values during SC 21 (64.86 per cent) and SC 22 (54.31 per cent), but for SC 23 we have more negative values (48.08 per cent). Our study shows that during SC 23 we have more SXR flare events having shorter decay time as compared to SC 21 and SC 22., 22 Pages, 14 figures, submitted to New Astronmy Journal

The distribution of the sunspots for the period 1967–1987 (solar cycles 20 and 21) is presented here. We find that the ±11–20° latitude belt is most prolific for the occurrence of various spot types irrespective of magnetic-field ranges. Furthermore, longitudinally sunspots occur most prolifically at six or more places on the Sun. Spatially 7–9 zones are present in each hemisphere (north or south) of the Sun where about 50% sunspots occur and occupy only about 4% area of the Sun. During the above cycles at least 5 flare zones were regularly present in each hemisphere. The existing models cannot explain these active zones on the Sun. Thus, the present analysis emphasizes the need for a new magnetic models of the Sun.