Polarimetric characterization of birefringent filter components.

Over the past 75 years, birefringent filter technology has evolved significantly. For nearly that same period of time, these filters have been designed and used by solar scientists to study the Sun. Prior to assembling these types of filters, each component, e.

In situ calibration of tunable filters: Lyot and Michelson.

Solar imaging optical filter technology has progressed significantly over the past 75 years, and the ability to tune narrowband filters is particularly valuable for solar atmosphere sensing. For example, imaging while tuning over a narrow solar spectral line (emission or absorption) provides two-dimensional measurements of Doppler shifts and magnetic fields. While tuning ability has improved significantly, tuning accuracy can be a challenge over time given system actuator drifts.

Chromospheric anemone jets as evidence of ubiquitous reconnection.

The heating of the solar chromosphere and corona is a long-standing puzzle in solar physics. Hinode observations show the ubiquitous presence of chromospheric anemone jets outside sunspots in active regions. They are typically 3 to 7 arc seconds = 2000 to 5000 kilometers long and 0.

MHD shocks and the origin of the solar transition region.

Simultaneous observations of the solar atmosphere from its surface to the corona obtained with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) show a ubiquitous sequence of events that start from cancellation of photospheric magnetic fields, pass through shock formation, and result in transition region supersonic jets and microflares. These results support a novel view of the energy buildup in the solar atmosphere associated with a cascade of shock waves produced by interacting network magnetic elements in the photosphere and provide insight into the origin of the solar transition region. The findings account for the general mechanisms of energy production, transfer, and release throughout the Sun's and stellar atmospheres.