Recently, we have set up a new digital CCD camera system, MicroMax YHS-1300 manufactured by Roper Scientific for Hα observation by Solar Flare Telescope at Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory. It has a 12 bit dynamic range, a pixel number of 1300×1030, a thermoelectric cooler, and an electric shutter. Its readout speed is about 3 frames per second and the dark current is about 0.05 e-/p/s at -10°. We have made a system performance test by confirming the system linearity, system gain, and system noise that its specification requires. We have also developed a data acquisition software which connects a digital camera con-troller to a PC and acquires Hα images via Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 under Windows 98. Comparisons of high quality Hα images of AR 9169 and AR 9283 obtained from SOFT with the corresponding images from Learmonth Solar Observatory in Australia confirm that our Hα digital observational system is performed properly. Finally, we present a set of Hα images taken from a two ribbon flare occurred in AR 9283.

Theoretical calculations of the combined radiative transfer and statistical equilibrium equation including the charge-particle conservations have been earned out for a multilevel hydrogen atom in quiescent prominences. Cool and dense models show the steep changes of population and radiation field in the vicinity of the surface, while these physical quantities remain unchanged for models with temperature of 7,300K, regardless of total densities. Ionization rate of hydrogen atom related with metallic line formation varies in considerable amounts from the surface to the center of model prominences cooler than 6,300K. However, such cool models cannot release enough hydrogen line emissions to explain observed intensities. Prominence models with a temperature higher than 8,000K can yield the centrally reversed Lyman line profiles confirmed by satellite EUV observations. We find that queiscent prominence with a density between 2 × 10 11 and 10 12 c m − 3 should be in temperature range between 6,300K and 8,300K, in order to explain consistently observed H alpha, beta line emissions and n p / n l ratio.

Fine structures of a quiescent prominence are studied by analyzing high resolution H alpha filtergrams and H alpha line spectra observed at the Hida Observatory of Kyoto University. We have found two kinds of downward motions in the prominence. One of them is a movement with a constant acceleration below the solar gravity( ≃ 1 / 4 g s ) and the other with an uniform velocity( ≃ 16 K m / s ). The average life time and the size of prominence knots are estimated to be about 7 minutes and 4000Km, respectively. Spatial and brightness distribution of knots are also presented in this paper. With the analytical solutions derived from magnetostatic equilibrium in the prominence, we have examined the filamentary structure based on the Kippenhahn-Schluter model. Sag angles of the magnetic fields supporting the prominence matter are predicted from the observed density profile.