17 Spacecraft Reveal 2-Lobed Solar Ejection, Exposing Hidden Earth-Bound CME
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 23
17 Spacecraft Reveal 2-Lobed Solar Ejection, Exposing Hidden Earth-Bound CME
2 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 23
Summary
A Dec. 15, 2024 coronal mass ejection was reconstructed with a record 17 spacecraft, showing an asymmetric two-lobed structure that hid a faster Earth-directed component.
SOHO initially saw only the larger, slower lobe, while wider solar-system coverage exposed a second lobe moving through the Earth-Mars sector at about 840 km/s versus 534 km/s for the western lobe.
Detections progressed from BepiColombo near Mercury on Dec. 16 to Earth on Dec. 17, STEREO-A on Dec. 18 and MAVEN at Mars on Dec. 19-20; Solar Orbiter's non-detection helped constrain the CME's shape.
Researchers said the event sits at the extreme end of observed CME variability and shows why off-axis spacecraft are critical for space-weather warnings as human missions move farther from Earth.