INTERPRETING THE LARGE LIMB ERUPTION OF JULY 9, 1982

Abstract

A time series of K3 spectroheliograms taken at the Coimbra Observatory exhibits an erupting loop on the east limb on July 9, 1982 in active region NOAA 3804. The Goddard SMM Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) observations taken during this period reveal a hard X-ray flare occurring just before the loop eruption is observed, and SMS-GOES soft X-ray observations reveal a strong long-duration event (LDE) following the impulsive phase of the flare. A Solwind coronagram exhibits a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with the erupting loop. Hα flare and prominence observations as well as centimeter and decimeter radio observations of the event are also reviewed. A large, north–south-oriented quiescent prominence reported within the upper part of the CME expansion region may play a role in the eruption as well. The spatial and temporal correlations among these observations are examined in the light of two different current models for prominence eruption and CME activation: (1) The CME is triggered by the observed hard X-ray impulsive flare. (2) The CME is not triggered by a flare, and the observed soft X-ray flare is an LDE due to reconnection within the CME ‘bubble’. It is concluded that this event is probably of a ‘mixed’ type that combines characteristics of models (1) and (2). The July 9 event is then compared to three other energetic CME and flare eruptions associated with the same active-region complex, all occurring in the period July 9 through September 4, 1982. It is noted that these four energetic events coincide with the final evolutionary phase of a long-lasting active-region complex, which is discussed in a companion paper (Bumba, Garcia, and Jordan, 1997). The paper concludes by addressing ‘the solar flare myth’ controversy in the light of this work.