Ellerman bombs: fallacies, fads, usage

TL;DR

Ellerman bombs are transient brightenings in solar active regions, and this paper critiques past misconceptions, discusses their spectral signatures, and promotes their use as indicators of magnetic field changes using specific imaging techniques.

Contribution

The paper identifies fallacies in Ellerman bomb research, clarifies their spectral diagnostics, and advocates for their application in studying magnetic field reconfiguration.

Findings

Critiques of past Ellerman bomb literature

Discussion of spectral diagnostic appearances

Proposal to use AIA 1700 Å images for field reconfiguration detection

Abstract

Ellerman bombs are short-lived brightenings of the outer wings of Halpha that occur in active regions with much flux emergence. We point out fads and fallacies in the extensive Ellerman bomb literature, discuss their appearance in various spectral diagnostics, and advocate their use as indicators of field reconfiguration in active-region topography using AIA 1700 A images.