Coronal Mass Ejections

Abstract:

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are massive discharges of plasma and magnetized particles from the corona of the Sun. Once discharged, these particles can travel up to a speed of 3,000 kilometers per second. Jeopardizing the lives of astronauts in space, damaging satellites, and blocking radio signals, CMEs can be extremely harmful to anything it comes in contact with. In relation to Earth specifically, they can cause geomagnetic storms which leads to blackouts and electricity grid disruptions, thus, making it very important for us to try to forecast CMEs and prepare for its effects. A SID monitor can be used to detect the sudden ionospheric disturbance caused by solar flares by measuring very low frequency (VLF) waves in the ionosphere. Since there is a correlation between full halo CMEs and the intensification of VLF waves, it is predicted that the SID monitors will also be able to detect strong or full halo CMEs and determine its intensity. Data was collected from the SOHO/LASCO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment) CME catalog as well as several SID monitors from the Stanford Solar Center and analyzed. After evaluating the data, it was found that there was a correlation between the kinetic energy of the CMEs and the signal strength of VLF waves recorded by the SID monitors. Detecting CMEs is very important so that we can prepare and take precautionary measures for the disruptions it may cause, and using SID monitors to do that is very beneficial.