Stereoscopic Analysis of the 19 May 2007 Erupting Filament

TL;DR

This study uses stereoscopic observations from STEREO to analyze the 3D structure and eruption dynamics of a filament on 19 May 2007, revealing heating and magnetic reconnection processes involved.

Contribution

First detailed 3D reconstruction of an erupting filament using STEREO data, linking filament heating to magnetic reconnection during eruption.

Findings

Filament's 3D trajectory determined from stereoscopy.

Simultaneous heating observed in filament and chromosphere.

Filament disappearance in Halpha linked to heating or motion.

Abstract

A filament eruption, accompanied by a B9.5 flare, coronal dimming and an EUV wave, was observed by the Solar TERrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) on 19 May 2007, beginning at about 13:00 UT. Here, we use observations from the SECCHI/EUVI telescopes and other solar observations to analyze the behavior and geometry of the filament before and during the eruption. At this time, STEREO A and B were separated by about 8.5 degrees, sufficient to determine the three-dimensional structure of the filament using stereoscopy. The filament could be followed in SECCHI/EUVI 304 A stereoscopic data from about 12 hours before to about 2 hours after the eruption, allowing us to determine the 3D trajectory of the erupting filament. From the 3D reconstructions of the filament and the chromospheric ribbons in the early stage of the eruption, simultaneous heating of both the rising filamentary material and the chromosphere directly below is observed, consistent with an eruption resulting from magnetic reconnection below the filament. Comparisons of the filament during eruption in 304 A and Halpha show that when it becomes emissive in He II, it tends to disappear in Halpha, indicating that the disappearance probably results from heating or motion, not loss, of filamentary material.