Advances in 3D Reconstruction of Coronal Mass Ejections

Abstract

Coronal mass ejection (CME) is the large scale magnetized plasmoid ejected from the Sun, which brings huge amount of magnetic flux and plasma into interplanetary space. An earthward CME will interact with the magnetosphere of the Earth, and invokes the substorm and the other phenomena of the space weather as it approaches to the Earth. The 2-dimensional data provided by the current observational techniques cannot describe the true magnetic structure and the plasma distribution of CMEs comprehensively. We need to look into the 3-dimensional structure and the associated three components of CME speeds in order to predict the time when an ICME (Interplanetary CME) reaches the Earth, and the potential consequent impact on the Earth and the nearby environment. In this paper, 3D reconstruction methods of CME based on existing imaging observations are introduced, including two kinds of reconstruction methods based on coronagraph data and heliosphere imager data, and CME-driven shock wave 3D reconstruction methods with high correlation with CME imaging reconstruction. Each method shows apparent advantages in dealing with specific events, but its weakness and necessary constrains to its applications exist as well. Results obtained via various methods are compared in this work, and we found that CME velocities and moving directions deduced from these methods are fairly close to one another, which shows high reliability of these methods. Finally, the hot topics related to the 3-dimensional reconstruction of CME (ICME) and the relevant development in reconstructing methods are also discussed.