This cartoon appeals to radio astronomers and high-energy astrophysicists, and is here by request. The official author is Joe Gurman, but Brian Dennis believes that it was inspired by a cartoon devised by Gordon Hurford. The original medium was ballpoint on napkin. It was then brilliantly rendered in IDL by Keith Strong. This version was scanned from the original publication by Brian Dennis. The miminalist concept embodied here eschews MHD concepts such as magnetic reconnection.
Note that the circled region at the bottom neatly defines the "thick target" interactions of coronal non-thermal electrons impacting the lower solar atmosphere.
August 2, 2005
March 27, 2006
March 11, 2008