edu.ucar.opensky::articles:10371 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-26T14:35:27.044444 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7vq3349 A chromospheric conundrum? 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7vq3349 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/720/1/776 Judge, Philip G. author Knölker, Michael author Schmidt, W. author Steiner, O. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher We examine spectra of the Ca II H line, obtained under good seeing conditions with the VTT Echelle Spectrograph in 2007 June, and higher resolution data of the Ca II λ8542 line from Fabry-Pérot instruments. The VTT targets were areas near disk center which included quiet Sun and some dispersed plage. The infrared data included quiet Sun and plage associated with small pores. Bright chromospheric network emission patches expand little with wavelength from line wing to line center, i.e., with increasing line opacity and height. We argue that this simple observation has implications for the force and energy balance of the chromosphere, since bright chromospheric network emission is traditionally associated with enhanced local mechanical heating which increases temperatures and pressures. Simple physical considerations then suggest that the network chromosphere may not be able to reach horizontal force balance with its surroundings, yet the network is a long-lived structure. We speculate on possible reasons for the observed behavior. By drawing attention to a potential conundrum, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of a long-standing unsolved problem: the heating of the chromospheric network. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Published by the Institute of Physics for the American Astronomical Society. Copyright 2010 The American Astronomical Society. None eng geoscientificInformation