The 2023 Australian Total Solar Eclipse: Line Emission of Fe XIV, Fe X and Fe XI out to 6 solar radii

TL;DR

This study presents detailed measurements of coronal emission lines during the 2023 Australian total solar eclipse, extending observations out to 6 solar radii and providing new insights into coronal temperature and solar wind formation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel observational approach for measuring coronal emission line ratios from 1.03 to 6 solar radii, enhancing understanding of the middle corona and its heating mechanisms.

Findings

Detected emission lines from 1.03 to 6 Rs

Validated brightness calibration with LASCO-C2 data

First resolution of line emission ratios in the middle corona

Abstract

We present narrowband observations of the Fe XIV (530.3 nm), Fe X (637.4 nm), and Fe XI (789.2 nm) coronal emission lines from the 2023 April 20 Total Solar Eclipse in Australia. We deployed pairs of telescopes for each emission line that were equipped with narrowband filters centered on, and several nanometers away from, the center wavelengths of the lines. The secondary continuum telescopes were used to measure and remove the combined continuum K- (electron) and F- (dust) corona, which dominate coronal emission at optical and infrared wavelengths. Significant emission was detected from all three lines from 1.03 solar radii (Rs) continuously outward to at least 6 Rs. The brightness of the lines and continuum are absolutely calibrated to the solar disk, and are validated by a comparison with LASCO-C2 observations made at the same time. Using these observations, we inferred the line emission ratios resolved throughout the middle-corona (defined as 1.5 to 6 Rs) for the first time. These line ratios are a probe of the electron temperature, which have important implications for constraining models of coronal heating and the characterization of solar wind formation, yet these emission lines have scarcely been quantified beyond 3 Rs in the corona. This study demonstrates the enduring potential of eclipse observations for coronal physics and suggests that future spacecraft missions could observe these lines farther out than has been attempted previously.