X-ray Microflare Observations by Solar Orbiter STIX

Abstract:

The Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) on Solar Orbiter is a hard X-ray imaging spectrometer covering the energy range from 4 to 150 keV. Through the bremsstrahlung process, STIX provides diagnostics of the hottest (above ~8 MK) flare plasmas while simultaneously quantifying the location, spectrum, and energy content of flare-accelerated non-thermal electrons. This presentation will highlight scientific results obtained during the STIX commissioning phase in May and June 2020, when STIX observed a total of 63 solar microflares at GOES class level A and B. We will present statistical results of our initial set of observations and compare them to previously obtained X-ray microflare statistics by RHESSI and NuSTAR.