First Determination of the True Mass of Coronal Mass Ejections: A Novel Approach to Using the Two STEREO Viewpoints

Abstract

The twin Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) COR2 coronagraphs of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) provide images of the solar corona from two view points in the solar system. Since their launch in late 2006, the STEREO Ahead (A) and Behind (B) spacecrafts have been slowly separating from Earth at a rate of 22.5 degrees per year. By the end of 2007, the two spacecraft were separated by more than 40 degrees from each other. At this time, we began to see large-scale differences in the morphology and total intensity between coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed with SECCHI-COR2 on STEREO-A and B. Due to the effects of the Thomson scattering geometry, the intensity of an observed CME is dependent on the angle it makes with the observed plane of the sky. From the intensity images, we can calculate the integrated line of sight electron density and mass. We demonstrate that is is possible to simultaneously derive the direction and true total mass of the CME if we make the simple assumption that the same mass should be observed in COR2-A and B.

References in corpus (1)

• Energetics of solar coronal mass ejections

Cited by in corpus (48)

• Comprehensive Analysis of Coronal Mass Ejection Mass and Energy Properties Over a Full Solar Cycle
• The Deflection of the Two Interacting Coronal Mass Ejections of 2010 May 23-24 as Revealed by Combined In situ Measurements and Heliospheric Imaging
• Deriving the radial distances of wide coronal mass ejections from elongation measurements in the heliosphere - Application to CME-CME interaction
• Characteristics of kinematics of a coronal mass ejection during the 2010 August 1 CME-CME interaction event
• Quantitative Analysis of CME Deflections in the Corona
• Determining the azimuthal properties of coronal mass ejections from multi-spacecraft remote-sensing observations with stereo secchi
• Modeling the evolution and propagation of the 2017 September 9th and 10th CMEs and SEPs arriving at Mars constrained by remote-sensing and in-situ measurement
• Relationship of EUV Irradiance Coronal Dimming Slope and Depth to Coronal Mass Ejection Speed and Mass
• Asymmetry in the CME-CME interaction process for the events from 2011 February 14-15
• Mechanisms and Observations of Coronal Dimming for the 2010 August 7 Event
• On flare-CME characteristics from Sun to Earth combining remote-sensing image data with in-situ measurements supported by modeling
• Evolution and Consequences of Interacting CMEs of 2012 November 9-10 using STEREO/SECCHI and In Situ Observations
• Estimating arrival time of Earth-directed CMEs at \textit{in-situ} spacecraft using COR & HI observations from STEREO
• Ensemble Prediction of a Halo Coronal Mass Ejection Using Heliospheric Imagers
• The height evolution of the `true' CME mass derived from STEREO COR1 and COR2 observations
• Comparisons of CME morphological characteristics derived from five 3D reconstruction methods
• Morphological and Kinematic Evolution of Three Interacting Coronal Mass Ejections of 2011 February 13-15
• The Color and Brightness of the F-Corona Inferred from the 2019 July 2 Total Solar Eclipse
• Deriving CME density from remote sensing data and comparison to in-situ measurements
• Evidence for a current sheet forming in the wake of a Coronal Mass Ejection from multi-viewpoint coronagraph observations
• Global Energetics of Solar Flares: IV. Coronal Mass Ejection Energetics
• Why does the apparent mass of a coronal mass ejection increase?
• Collection, Collation, and Comparison of 3D Coronal CME Reconstructions
• Origin and Ion Charge State Evolution of Solar Wind Transients during 4 -- 7 August 2011
• A comparison of reconstruction methods for the estimation of CME kinematics based on SECCHI/HI observations
• Assessing the collision nature of coronal mass ejections in the inner heliosphere
• VLA Measurements of Faraday Rotation through Coronal Mass Ejections
• Study of the recurring dimming region detected at AR 11305 using the Coronal Dimming Tracker (CoDiT)
• On Understanding the Nature of Collision of Coronal Mass Ejections Observed by \textit{STEREO}
• A Modified Spheromak Model Suitable for Coronal Mass Ejection Simulations
• Ensemble simulations of the 12 July 2012 Coronal Mass Ejection with the Constant Turn Flux Rope Model
• Interplanetary and Geomagnetic Consequences of Interacting CMEs of 13-14 June 2012
• Hybrid Reconstruction to Derive 3D Height-Time Evolution for Coronal Mass Ejections
• Drag-based CME modeling with heliospheric images incorporating frontal deformation: ELEvoHI 2.0
• First Determination of 2D Speed Distribution within the Bodies of Coronal Mass Ejections with Cross-Correlation Analysis
• Mass Loss Evolution in the EUV Low Corona from SDO/AIA Data
• Improving the Arrival Time Estimates of Coronal Mass Ejections by Using Magnetohydrodynamic Ensemble Modeling, Heliospheric Imager data, and Machine Learning
• Variation of proton flux profiles with the observer's latitude in simulated gradual SEP events
• The 2019 International Women's Day event: A two-step solar flare with multiple eruptive signatures and low Earth impact
• Kinematical properties of coronal mass ejections
• Uncertainties in polarimetric 3D reconstructions of coronal mass ejections
• Simulating White-Light Images of Coronal Structures for Parker Solar Probe/WISPR: Study of the Total Brightness Profiles
• Low geo-effectiveness of fast halo CMEs related to the 12 X-class flares in 2002
• Suzaku Detection of Solar Wind Charge Exchange Emission from a Variety of Highly-ionized Ions in an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection
• Modeling CME encounters at Parker Solar Probe with OSPREI: Dependence on photospheric and coronal conditions
• Analysis of a long-duration AR throughout five solar rotations: Magnetic properties and ejective events
• Interplanetary magnetic flux rope observed at ground level by HAWC
• Space weather: the solar perspective -- an update to Schwenn (2006)