Space Weather: A Geometric Model Applied to Earth-directed LASCO Halo Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

Catholic University Of America, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

An innovative, but relatively simple, model will be applied to solar Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) observations made with the LASCO instrument on board the SOHO spacecraft. Starting with data obtained in 1996, some 150 Earth-directed, or so-called "halo", CMEs will be analyzed using a conical model originally developed by Zhao, Plunkett and Liu. From this model one may, in principal, be able to deduce sizes and transit times of geoeffective CMEs. This information would be extremely useful to Space Weather Forecasters. If the method proves to be effective, a second component of this effort would involve working with Space Weather Forecasters at NOAA's Space Environment Center to develop efficient operational techniques to estimate CME travel times based on sequences of LASCO images.