PROPERTIES AND CORRELATION OF FLARES AND CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS AND THEIR POSSIBLE RELEVANCE ON THE SOUTHERN NIGHT SKY BACKGROUND : A STATISTICAL STUDY
type: CreativeWork
description: This Thesis is devoted to a statistical study of solar phenomena (flares and coronal mass ejections) and their possible effects on the Earth. The Sun, our star, can be considered a huge laboratory where we can study the interaction of a ionized gas with magnetic fields. In particular, the solar atmosphere (the outer layers of the Sun, those which are accessible to observations) is characterized by phenomena that due their existence to localized magnetic fields: sunspots, faculae, filaments, active regions, bright points, coronal holes, etc. The occurrence of these phenomena is variable, depending on the so-called activity cycle, characterized by a period of 11 years. Moreover, in some situations, the magnetic field that permeates the active regions, from an initial potential field configuration (characterized by the minimum energy content), can slowly store energy, changing its configuration to more complex and more energetic ones. When the magnetic field configuration is not able to maintain its equilibrium, the stored magnetic energy is abruptly released, giving rise to phenomena that are generally termed as solar eruptions but that, depending on their characteristics, are distinguished between flares, filament eruptions and coronal mass ejections. In the last decades, the possibilities offered by new computer capabilities, new instruments and by satellite observations, have allowed us to understand many of the characteristics of these eruptions, as well as their effects on the Earth magnetosphere and ionosphere. However, despite the progress in our comprehension of these phenomena, there are still many aspects that need to be clarified: how and where is the energy stored, what causes the trigger of the eruption, how the different phenomena are related to each other and how they can affect our environment, to cite only a few. In this scenario, the work carried out in this Thesis has been motivated by three main questions: -- Are there preferential locations on the…
abstract: This Thesis is devoted to a statistical study of solar phenomena (flares and coronal mass ejections) and their possible effects on the Earth. The Sun, our star, can be considered a huge laboratory where we can study the interaction of a ionized gas with magnetic fields. In particular, the solar atmosphere (the outer layers of the Sun, those which are accessible to observations) is characterized by phenomena that due their existence to localized magnetic fields: sunspots, faculae, filaments, active regions, bright points, coronal holes, etc. The occurrence of these phenomena is variable, depending on the so-called activity cycle, characterized by a period of 11 years. Moreover, in some situations, the magnetic field that permeates the active regions, from an initial potential field configuration (characterized by the minimum energy content), can slowly store energy, changing its configuration to more complex and more energetic ones. When the magnetic field configuration is not able to maintain its equilibrium, the stored magnetic energy is abruptly released, giving rise to phenomena that are generally termed as solar eruptions but that, depending on their characteristics, are distinguished between flares, filament eruptions and coronal mass ejections. In the last decades, the possibilities offered by new computer capabilities, new instruments and by satellite observations, have allowed us to understand many of the characteristics of these eruptions, as well as their effects on the Earth magnetosphere and ionosphere. However, despite the progress in our comprehension of these phenomena, there are still many aspects that need to be clarified: how and where is the energy stored, what causes the trigger of the eruption, how the different phenomena are related to each other and how they can affect our environment, to cite only a few. In this scenario, the work carried out in this Thesis has been motivated by three main questions: -- Are there preferential locations on the…
author: COMPAGNINO, ANTONIO ALESSIO
language: eng
keywords: Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections, Geomagnetic Storms
date published: 2017-11-22
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:35:22Z
provider: Università degli Studi di Catania
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Università degli studi di Catania

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property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/583134