ITN: One for our solar scientists .. all about CMEs:
Scientists unlock the secrets of exploding plasma clouds on the sun
Quote:
Twisted "ropes" of magnetic field lines erupt from the Sun and tangle with the Earth's magnetic field …
This is the first model that can replicate directly observed quantities near the Sun and the Earth as well as the actual trajectories of CMEs.
The position of the leading edge (LE) of a CME that erupted on December 24, 2007 were tracked by the STEREO-A spacecraft from the earliest stages of eruption to its arrival at 1 AU approximately five days later. The magnetic field and plasma parameters were measured by the STEREO-B spacecraft. The agreement between theory and data is within 1 percent of the measured position of the LE.
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The analysis and theory testing was done by research by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C.
I notice that there doesn't appear to be any statements concerning the
origin mechanism of the CMEs, just yet. The model only confirms field strength, plasma properties and arrival times, at 1 AU.
Cheers
