Core and Large‐Scale Structure of the 2000 November 24 X‐Class Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection

Abstract

In this paper, we present three important aspects of the X1.8 flare and the associated coronal mass ejection (CME) that occurred on 2000 November 24: (1) The source of the flare is clearly associated with a magnetic channel structure, as was noted in a study by Zirin & Wang, which is due to a combination of flux emergence inside the leading edge of the penumbra of the major leading sunspot and proper motion of the sunspot group. The channel structure provides evidence for twisted flux ropes that can erupt, forming the core of a CME, and may be a common property of several superactive regions that have produced multiple X-class flares in the past. (2) There are actually three flare ribbons visible. The first can be seen moving away from the flare site, while the second and third make up a stationary ribbon near the leader spot. The moving ribbons could be due to a shock associated with the erupting flux rope or due to the interaction of erupting rope and the surrounding magnetic fields. In either case, the ribbon motion does not fit the classical Kopp-Pneuman model, in which the separation of ribbons is due to magnetic reconnection at successively higher and higher coronal altitudes. (3) From the coronal dimming observed with the EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT), the CME involved a much larger region than the initial X-class flare. By comparing high-resolution full-disk Ha and EIT observations, we found that a remote dimming area is cospatial with the enhanced Ha emission. This result is consistent with the recent model of Yokoyama & Shibata that some dimming areas near footpoints may be due to chromospheric evaporation.