Rapid Formation and Disappearance of a Filament Barb

Observations of a filament showing an activated barb recorded from the at the Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on 2010 August 20 are presented. The filament developed a barb in 10 minutes, which disappeared within the next 35 minutes. Such a rapid formation and disappearance of a filament barb is unusual, and has been seldom reported. Line-of-sight velocity maps were constructed from images in seven line positions along the H-alpha line. We observe flows in the filament spine towards the barb location prior to its formation, and flows in the barb towards the spine during its disappearance. Photospheric magnetograms from Helioseismic Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory were used to determine the changes in magnetic flux in the region surrounding the barb location. The variation of magnetic flux in this duration support the view that barbs are rooted in minor magnetic polarity.