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Session: Heliophysics and the Solar System

Name: Dr. Evangelos Paouris (GMU & JHU/APL)
Coauthors: Kouloumvakos Athanasios (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
Vourlidas Angelos (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
Papaioannou Athanasios (Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications & Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens)
Type: Oral
Title: CME forecasting from L5 utilizing STEREO-A heliospheric imagers: Focus on the period June 2020 – June 2021
Abstract:

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are the drivers of the most intense geomagnetic storms. The early and accurate prediction of CMEs is crucial for Space Weather forecasting. The deployment of the STEREO mission enabled the unique opportunity to observe CMEs from multiple viewpoints in the inner heliosphere, tracking CMEs all the way from Sun to Earth. As mankind returns soon to the Moon, and ventures beyond further in the future, space weather forecasts take a new role in protecting human exploration efforts. Spacecraft dedicated to Space Weather stationed at the Lagrangian L4 and L5 points would be very beneficial for improving forecasts. In this work, we present lessons learned from the STEREO mission focusing on the period June 2020 – June 2021 while STEREO-A was around the L5 point, with a separation angle from Earth between 50 and 70 degrees. We use heliospheric imagers to estimate the Time-of-Arrival (ToA) and the Speed-on-Arrival (SoA) of Earth-directed CMEs and compare the results with the in situ signatures at L1. We also present preliminary results of CME kinematics and energetics. Finally, we will highlight our Space Weather perspective analysis of the fastest (so far) CME of solar cycle 25, encountered in the corona by PSP on September 5, 2022. This unique event was recorded simultaneously by in situ instruments and imagers dispersed throughout the inner heliosphere.