9311834 Schmelz The physical properties of the highly ionized plasma of the solar corona will be investigated using soft X-ray spectral line data previously acquired by the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. The soft X-ray lines provides the redundancy to untangle various observational and theoretical effects, and to test current ideas about the properties of the coronal component of solar active regions. Current analysis methods assume that the observed plasma is optically thin, that the elemental abundance values are constant, than the theoretical behavior of the emissions lines is a well known function of temperature, and that the plasma is isothermal. The analysis methods developed for this investigation do not require these restrictions. Several undergraduate students will be involved in the projects to assist with the data analysis and present the results. ***
