Kinematics of Interacting CMEs of September 25 and 28, 2012

Abstract

We have studied two Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) that occurred on September 25 and 28, 2012 and interacted near the Earth. By fitting the Graduated Cylindrical Shell (GCS) model on the SECCHI/COR2 images and applying the Stereoscopic Self-Similar Expansion (SSSE) method on the SECCHI/HI images, the initial direction of both the CMEs is estimated to be west of the Sun-Earth line. Further, the three-dimensional (3D) heliospheric kinematics of these CMEs have been estimated using Self-Similar Expansion (SSE) reconstruction method. We show that use of SSE method with different values of angular extent of the CMEs, leads to significantly different kinematics estimates for the CMEs propagating away from the observer. Using the estimated kinematics and true masses of the CMEs, we have derived the coefficient of restitution for the collision which is found to be close to elastic. The in situ measurements at 1 AU show two distinct structures of interplanetary CMEs, heating of the following CME, as well as ongoing interaction between the preceding and the following CME. We highlight the signatures of interaction in remote and in situ observations of these CMEs and the role of interaction in producing a major geomagnetic storm.

16 Pages, 7 Figures, Accepted for publication in JGR

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• Assessing the collision nature of coronal mass ejections in the inner heliosphere
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• Interplanetary and Geomagnetic Consequences of Interacting CMEs of 13-14 June 2012
• Propagation of Coronal Mass Ejections from the Sun to Earth
• Quantifying the uncertainty in CME kinematics derived from geometric modelling of Heliospheric Imager data
• L1 and off Sun-Earth line visible-light imaging of Earth-directed CMEs: An analysis of inconsistent observations
• Study of Interplanetary and Geomagnetic Response of Filament Associated CMEs