1206.3584 (B. E. Wood et al.)

A Coronal Hole's Effects on CME Shock Morphology in the Inner Heliosphere    [PDF]

B. E. Wood, C. - C. Wu, A. P. Rouillard, R. A. Howard, D. G. Socker

We use STEREO imagery to study the morphology of a shock driven by a fast coronal mass ejection (CME) launched from the Sun on 2011 March 7. The source region of the CME is located just to the east of a coronal hole. The CME ejecta is deflected away from the hole, in contrast with the shock, which readily expands into the fast outflow from the coronal hole. The result is a CME with ejecta not well centered within the shock surrounding it. The shock shape inferred from the imaging is compared with in situ data at 1 AU, where the shock is observed near Earth by the Wind spacecraft, and at STEREO-A. Shock normals computed from the in situ data are consistent with the shock morphology inferred from imaging.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1206.3584