Origins of the Slow and the Ubiquitous Fast Solar Wind
Open Access
- 1 November 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astrophysical Journal
- Vol. 489 (1) , L103-L106
- https://doi.org/10.1086/310970
Abstract
We present in this Letter the first coordinated radio occultation measurements and ultraviolet observations of the inner corona below 5.5Rs, obtained during the Galileo solar conjunction in 1997 January, to establish the origin of the slow solar wind. Limits on the flow speed are derived from the Doppler dimming of the resonantly scattered component of the oxygen 1032 and 1037.6 Å lines as measured with the ultraviolet coronagraph spectrometer (UVCS) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). White light images of the corona from the large-angle spectroscopic coronagraph (LASCO) on SOHO taken simultaneously are used to place the Doppler radio scintillation and ultraviolet measurements in the context of coronal structures. These combined observations provide the first direct confirmation of the view recently proposed by Woo & Martin that the slow solar wind is associated with the axes, also known as stalks, of streamers. Furthermore, the ultraviolet observations also show how the fast solar wind is ubiquitous in the inner corona and that a velocity shear between the fast and slow solar wind develops along the streamer stalks.Keywords
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