HR: 1340h
AN: SH13A-0303    [Abstracts]
TI: Differentiating Between Streamer Deflections and "New Mass" in Halo CMEs
AU: * Thompson, B J
EM: barbara.j.thompson@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 612.1 NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AB: The LASCO coronagraphs on board SOHO have detected hundreds of halo coronal mass ejections, exhibiting a wide range of speeds and propagation morphologies. However, it is important to distinguish which aspects of the halo CME are due to erupting material, or "new mass," and which aspects are due to the motion of pre-existing structures. We have established a means of determining which aspects of halo CME emission are due to newly added mass to the corona, and which aspects of halo CME emission are due to the deflection of bright structures towards the sky, thereby increasing their scattering efficiency. By mapping the CME brightening into the pre-existing corona, it can be shown that some of the emission in halo CMEs has a positive correlation with pre-event features, which can only explained if we include the contribution of streamer motion to the CME brightness. Differentiating between these two sources of CME brightness (and apparent mass) is extremely important because it allows better determination of the CME mass, morphology, and direction of propagation, providing a better linkage to Earth. We will discuss several events from different viewing angles, and will suggest an algorithm that can be implemented in near-real time for forecasting purposes.
DE: 7513 Coronal mass ejections (2101)
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005