A Catalog of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections Observed by Juno between 1 and 5.4 au

Abstract

Abstract We use magnetic field measurements by the Juno spacecraft to catalog and investigate interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) beyond 1 au. During its cruise phase, Juno spent about 5 yr in the solar wind between 2011 September and 2016 June, providing measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) between 1 and 5.4 au. Juno therefore presents the most recent opportunity for a statistical analysis of ICME properties beyond 1 au since the Ulysses mission (1990–2009). Our catalog includes 80 such ICME events, 32 of which contain associated flux-rope-like structures. We find that the dependency of the mean magnetic field strength of the magnetic flux ropes decreases with heliocentric distance as r −1.24±0.43 between 1 and 5.4 au, in good agreement with previous relationships calculated using ICME catalogs at Ulysses. We combine the Juno catalog with the HELCATS catalog to create a data set of ICMEs covering 0.3–5.4 au. Using a linear regression model to fit the combined data set on a double-logarithmic plot, we find that there is a clear difference between global expansion rates for ICMEs observed at shorter heliocentric distances and those observed farther out beyond 1 au. The cataloged ICMEs at Juno present a good basis for future multispacecraft studies of ICME evolution between the inner heliosphere, 1 au, and beyond.