On the Mass and Energy Loading of Extreme-UV Bright Points

Abstract

We discuss the appearance of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) bright points (BPs) in the analysis of long-duration observations in the He II 304 Å passband of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SOHO EIT). The signature of the observed 304 Å passband intensity fluctuations around the BPs suggests that the primary source of the mass and energy supplied to the magnetic structure is facilitated by relentless magnetoconvection-driven reconnection, forced by the magnetic evolution of the surrounding supergranules. Furthermore, we observe that if the magnetic conditions in the supergranules surrounding the footpoints of the cool 304 Å BPs are sufficient (large net imbalance with a magnetic field that closes beyond the boundaries of the cell in which it originates), the magnetic topology comprising the BP will begin to reconnect with the overlying corona, increasing its visibility to hotter EUV passbands and possibly soft X-rays.