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Title: IS SOLAR CYCLE 24 PRODUCING MORE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS THAN CYCLE 23?

Abstract

Although sunspot numbers are roughly a factor of two lower in the current cycle than in cycle 23, the rate of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) appears to be at least as high in 2011-2013 as during the corresponding phase of the previous cycle, according to three catalogs that list events observed with the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). However, the number of CMEs detected is sensitive to such factors as the image cadence and the tendency (especially by human observers) to under-/overcount small or faint ejections during periods of high/low activity. In contrast to the total number, the total mass of CMEs is determined mainly by larger events. Using the mass measurements of 11,000 CMEs given in the manual CDAW catalog, we find that the mass loss rate remains well correlated with the sunspot number during cycle 24. In the case of the automated CACTus and SEEDS catalogs, the large increase in the number of CMEs during cycle 24 is almost certainly an artifact caused by the near-doubling of the LASCO image cadence after mid-2010. We confirm that fast CMEs undergo a much stronger solar-cycle variation than slow ones, and that the relative frequency of slow and less massivemore » CMEs increases with decreasing sunspot number. We conclude that cycle 24 is not only producing fewer CMEs than cycle 23, but that these ejections also tend to be slower and less massive than those observed one cycle earlier.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22365939
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 784; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; HELIOSPHERE; IMAGES; MASS TRANSFER; SOLAR CORONA; SOLAR CYCLE; STELLAR WINDS; SUN; SUNSPOTS; VARIATIONS

Citation Formats

Wang, Y. -M., and Colaninno, R., E-mail: yi.wang@nrl.navy.mil, E-mail: robin.colaninno@nrl.navy.mil. IS SOLAR CYCLE 24 PRODUCING MORE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS THAN CYCLE 23?. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/784/2/L27.
Wang, Y. -M., & Colaninno, R., E-mail: yi.wang@nrl.navy.mil, E-mail: robin.colaninno@nrl.navy.mil. IS SOLAR CYCLE 24 PRODUCING MORE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS THAN CYCLE 23?. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/784/2/L27
Wang, Y. -M., and Colaninno, R., E-mail: yi.wang@nrl.navy.mil, E-mail: robin.colaninno@nrl.navy.mil. 2014. "IS SOLAR CYCLE 24 PRODUCING MORE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS THAN CYCLE 23?". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/784/2/L27.
@article{osti_22365939,
title = {IS SOLAR CYCLE 24 PRODUCING MORE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS THAN CYCLE 23?},
author = {Wang, Y. -M. and Colaninno, R., E-mail: yi.wang@nrl.navy.mil, E-mail: robin.colaninno@nrl.navy.mil},
abstractNote = {Although sunspot numbers are roughly a factor of two lower in the current cycle than in cycle 23, the rate of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) appears to be at least as high in 2011-2013 as during the corresponding phase of the previous cycle, according to three catalogs that list events observed with the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). However, the number of CMEs detected is sensitive to such factors as the image cadence and the tendency (especially by human observers) to under-/overcount small or faint ejections during periods of high/low activity. In contrast to the total number, the total mass of CMEs is determined mainly by larger events. Using the mass measurements of 11,000 CMEs given in the manual CDAW catalog, we find that the mass loss rate remains well correlated with the sunspot number during cycle 24. In the case of the automated CACTus and SEEDS catalogs, the large increase in the number of CMEs during cycle 24 is almost certainly an artifact caused by the near-doubling of the LASCO image cadence after mid-2010. We confirm that fast CMEs undergo a much stronger solar-cycle variation than slow ones, and that the relative frequency of slow and less massive CMEs increases with decreasing sunspot number. We conclude that cycle 24 is not only producing fewer CMEs than cycle 23, but that these ejections also tend to be slower and less massive than those observed one cycle earlier.},
doi = {10.1088/2041-8205/784/2/L27},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22365939}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
issn = {2041-8205},
number = 2,
volume = 784,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}