The objective of this project is to study magnetic reconnection in the solar transition region using far-ultraviolet spectra and images from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS).
Explosive events (EEs) are line broadenings observed in transition region emission lines, at temperatures of 20,000K - 250,000K. EEs are nonthermal, meaning that the doppler velocity inferred from the broadening exceeds the thermal speed. As a result, it is widely believed that EEs are signatures of magnetic reconnection in the solar atmosphere. IRIS sees EEs frequently, perhaps several per minute or more. Your task is to identify, classify, and analyze explosive event data. The result will be a database of explosive event statistics, plots, and movies. Our hope is that this database will shed light on the nature of magnetic reconnection in the Transition Region. (via http://solar.physics.montana.edu/REU/2017/projects/parker.html)
(c) 2017 Allison Bartz