Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufmsh21a0396k&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #SH21A-0396
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
7513 Coronal Mass Ejections, 6210 Comets
Scientific paper
The Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) was launched into orbit in January 2003 with the primary mission of detecting and tracking coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The three-camera SMEI system produces a nearly complete image of the sky every 100 minutes. Providing nearly continuous monitoring of the sky, SMEI is in a unique position to make serendipitous observations of transient astronomical phenomena. From mid-April to late May 2004 SMEI observed three bright comets, Bradfield (C/2004 F4), LINEAR (C/2002 T7), and NEAT (C/2001 Q4), traversing the inner solar system. During this period both NEAT and LINEAR experienced spectacular tail disconnections. Since SMEI was designed to be sensitive to the very low level of emission from CMEs, it was able to observe and track the very faint comet remnants over much longer time and spatial scales not possible from the ground. We present these comet observations, compare them with the projected interplanetary solar magnetic fields, and discuss the possible disconnection causes including current sheet crossings and disruption from a CME front.
Arge Charles Nickolos
Johnston Janet C.
Kahler Stephen W.
Kuchar Thomas A.
Mizuno Daisuke
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