Observational Studies of the Solar Corona: Results from Recent Missions and Eclipses
The extended inner corona is the region where the solar wind is heated and accelerated, where the magnetic field reduces from a complex multipolar configuration to a simpler radial field, and where mass ejections rapidly evolve. Studies of this region provide an essential link between the Sun and the heliosphere. The goal of this session is to present results arising from observations of the solar corona by current space missions, ground-based telescopes and during solar eclipses. Topics of interest include structural/magnetic connections between the Sun and the corona, diagnostics of coronal temperatures, densities, and other derived values, studies of the coronal dynamics, and links between wider heliospheric phenomena and the Sun. The session is timely given the launch of Solar Orbiter in 2018, the unique opportunities of the US total solar eclipse in August 2017, and the advent of the DKIST telescope in 2018.
This session will have a broad interest within the conference, and will offer the chance for researchers to present new results that will provide impetus and constraints on current models of the solar atmosphere and solar wind. We hope to attract presentations of stunning imagery and movies that arise from the latest instruments and solar eclipses.