The solar eruption of 13 May 2005: EISCAT and MERLIN observations of a coronal radio burst

R. A. Jones (1) , A. R. Breen (1) , R. A. Fallows (1) , M. M. Bisi (1) , P. Thomasson (2) , G. Wannberg (3) , C. A. Jordan (2)

1 Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
2 Jodrell Bank Observatory
3 EISCAT Scientific Association

We report results from EISCAT and MERLIN observations of radio scintillation during a solar eruptive event in May 2005. Anomalous increases in signal strength detected at sites more than 2000 km apart are shown to arise from the detection of a strong coronal radio burst in the distant off-axis response of the MERLIN and EISCAT antennas. These observations show that EISCAT is capable of detecting the signatures of explosive events in the solar atmosphere with a high degree of time resolution. We further suggest that the highly time-structured variation in signal strength caused by distant off-axis detection of a powerful coronal radio signal could provide an explanation for previously unexplained anomalies in EISCAT IPS observations, as well as being a potential source of errors in active observations using radar codes with a completion time longer than the time-variation of the coronal signal.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Sciences de la Terre

R. A. Jones, A. R. Breen, R. A. Fallows, M. M. Bisi, P. Thomasson, et al.. The solar eruption of 13 May 2005: EISCAT and MERLIN observations of a coronal radio burst. Annales Geophysicae, 2006, 24 (9), pp.2413-2418. ⟨hal-00318169⟩