No doubt a blitheringly simple cartoon, but it illustrates an interesting application of the hard X-ray data. Based upon their modeling and adroit data analysis, the authors believe that they can demonstrate the "canopy" structure of the chromospheric magnetic field. This is great because it links high-energy solar astrophysics with the more ordinary kind of solar astronomy; sadly, however, the concept of a "canopy" went out of style some decades ago and so it is probably too late to confirm it! In any case it would hardly apply to an active region, where the field in the photosphere is not characterized by the intense flux concentrations found in the network.
August 28, 2008
October 28, 2010