Author ORCID Identifier
James McAteer:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1493-101X
Shane Maloney:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4715-1805
Jason Byrne:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9412-8878
Peter Gallagher:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9745-0400
Document Type
Journal Article
Journal Article Version
Final Version / Publisher's PDF (peer-reviewed)
Publication Date
9-1-2010
Abstract
Solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the most significant drivers of adverse space weather on Earth, but the physics governing their propagation through the heliosphere is not well understood. Although stereoscopic imaging of CMEs with NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) has provided some insight into their three-dimensional (3D) propagation, the mechanisms governing their evolution remain unclear because of difficulties in reconstructing their true 3D structure. In this paper, we use a new elliptical tie-pointing technique to reconstruct a full CME front in 3D, enabling us to quantify its deflected trajectory from high latitudes along the ecliptic, and measure its increasing angular width and propagation from 2 to 46 R-circle dot (similar to 0.2 AU). Beyond 7 R-circle dot, we show that its motion is determined by an aerodynamic drag in the solar wind and, using our reconstruction as input for a 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we determine an accurate arrival time at the Lagrangian L1 point near Earth.
Published in
Nature Communications
DOI
10.1038/ncomms1077
Keywords
Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs), heliosphere, Space weather
Department / Organizational Unit
Astronomy
Copyright Notice
© 2010 J. Byrne, S. Maloney, R. McAteer, et al., reuse allowed according to Creative Commons license.
License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Byrne, J. P., Maloney, S. A., McAteer, R. T. J., Refojo, J. M., & Gallagher, P. T. (2010). Propagation of an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection in three dimensions. Nature Communications, 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1077