2003/08/21 by A. Vourlidas, S. T. Wu, A. H. Wang +3 · 237 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrobiology #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Corona (planetary geology) #Coronagraph #Coronal mass ejection #Ejecta #Event (particle physics) #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Magnetohydrodynamics #Materials science #Mechanics #Nuclear physics #Optics #Physics #Planet #Plasma #Protein filament #Shock (circulatory) #Shock wave #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Solar wind #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #White light #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/379098
published in The Astrophysical Journal 598(2), 1392-1402 (IOP Publishing) · Accepted for publication in the ApJ
arxiv created 2003/08/21 · openalex publication_date 2003/12/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) C2 and C3 coronagraphs recorded a unique coronal mass ejection (CME) on 1999 April 2. The event did not have the typical three-part CME structure and involved a small-filament eruption without any visible overlying streamer ejecta. The event exhibited an unusually clear signature of a wave propagating at the CME flanks. The speed and density of the CME front and flanks were consistent with the existence of a shock. To better establish the nature of the white-light wave signature, we employed a simple MHD simulation using the LASCO measurements as constraints. Both the measurements and the simulation strongly suggest that the white-light feature is the density enhancement from a fast-mode MHD shock. In addition, the LASCO images clearly show streamers being deflected when the shock impinges on them. It is the first direct imaging of this interaction.