Magnetic Field
Magnetic Field Lines
(View Covering 8 x 8 Solar Radii)
Volume-rendered Squashing Factor Q
(View Covering 2.8 x 2.8 Solar Radii)
Magnetic Field Lines
(View Covering 4 x 4 Solar Radii)
These movies show visualizations of the magnetic field at the end of our prediction calculation.
The central movie shows a zoomed-in volume rendering of the squashing factor, Q. It is similar to the visualization on our main page, but tailored to emphasize the magnetic complexity present in the low corona.
The left and right movies show magnetic field lines, which are selected to show the open magnetic field where the solar wind streams out supersonically; the closed magnetic field that defines coronal streamers (denser because they trap the solar wind); and finally, the field that lies in filament channels, where plasma typically condenses to form cool and dense filaments/prominences. The magnetic field lines are colored with arbitrary colors to tell them apart. The movies show the appearance of the field lines as the Sun rotates (assuming that the magnetic field is not changing in time).
Each frame is marked by the Central Meridian Longitude (CML) in degrees. The Sun rotates about 13.2 degrees per day (the synodic rotation period at a latitude of 26 degrees, the so-called Carrington rotation rate). At the moment of the eclipse on December 14, 2020, the CML will be 148.6 degrees.
