Analysis of Solar Wind Ejecta Observed by the Wide-field Imager (WISPR) on Parker Solar Probe

Abstract:

The three-to-five-month highly elliptical orbit of Parker Solar Probe (PSP), approaching within 10 solar radii of the Sun, allows the Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) to view the corona with unprecedented spatial resolution. WISPR has a wide fixed angular field-of-view (FOV), extending radially from 13.5° to 108° from the Sun and approximately 50° in the transverse direction, but the physical extent of the imaged coronal region varies directly with the distance of the spacecraft from the Sun. We have developed tools for determining the trajectories of solar eject which take into account the spacecraft motion. Here, we present results of the analysis of the trajectory of several CMEs observed by WISPR using these tools, including CMEs observed on 2020 January 20 and 2020 January 26-27. The CMEs were also observed in white light by either STEREO A or LASCO or both. Observations from STEREO A, LASCO and SDO are used to study the origin and evolution of these events. To relate and compare the ejecta seen in the WISPR images to simultaneous observation from another white light telescope, it is necessary to relate the fields-of-view of the telescopes at any given time to a common frame of reference, such as the Heliocentric Inertial coordinate frame. Using World Coordinate System information in the images’ FITS headers, we project the trajectory determined from WISPR or features seen in the WISPR images onto images from the second white light telescope to better understand the structure and evolution of the CMEs.