Purple Mountain Observatory
Nanjing, Jiangsu, PRC

15. Limb Flare of Special Whirling Structure

On March 27, 1979, the Purple Mountain Observatory was able to take photographs of a limb flare of special whirling structure. The photos show the development of the flare. In the photo taken at 14h 20m 20s Beijing time, there appeared a magnetohydrodynamic tube made of two twisted ones by 14h 23m 03s, two obvious broken ends can be seen, probably indicating the presence of a 10 to the 11th amperes current in the magnetic tube. The maximum height of the flare is about 10 to the 5th km. The burst energy of the flare is about 10 to the 31st ergs, equivalent to more than 10 to the 7th hydrogen-bombs.