A CME-driven solar wind distrubance observed at both low and high heliographic latitudes
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); and others
A solar wind disturbance produced by a fast coronal mass ejection, CME, that departed from the Sun on Feburary 20, 1994 was observed in the ecliptic plane at 1 AU by IMP 8 and at high heliographic latitudes at 3.53 AU by Ulysses. In the ecliptic the disturbance included a strong forward shock but no reverse shock, while at high latitudes the disturbance was bounded by a relatively weak forward-reverse shock pair. It is clear that the disturbance in the ecliptic plane was driven primarily by the relative speed between the CME and a slower ambient solar wind ahead, whereas at higher latitudes the disturbance was driven by expansion of the CME. The combined IMP 8 and Ulysses observations thus provide a graphic illustration of how a single fast CME can produce very different types of solar wind disturbances at low and high heliographic latitudes. Simple numerical simulations help explain observed differences at the two spacecraft. 12 refs., 3 figs.
- OSTI ID:
- 250028
- Journal Information:
- Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 22; ISSN GPRLAJ; ISSN 0094-8276
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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