With the advent of the Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory (H/GSO), a complement of multi-spacecraft missions and ground-based observatories to study the space environment, data retrieval, analysis, and visualization of space physics data can be daunting. The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS), a grass-roots software development platform ( www.spedas.org ), is now officially supported by NASA Heliophysics as part of its data environment infrastructure. It serves more than a dozen space missions and ground observatories and can integrate the full complement of past and upcoming space physics missions with minimal resources, following clear, simple, and well-proven guidelines. Free, modular and configurable to the needs of individual missions, it works in both command-line (ideal for experienced users) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode (reducing the learning curve for first-time users). Both options have “crib-sheets,” user-command sequences in ASCII format that can facilitate record-and-repeat actions, especially for complex operations and plotting. Crib-sheets enhance scientific interactions, as users can move rapidly and accurately from exchanges of technical information on data processing to efficient discussions regarding data interpretation and science. SPEDAS can readily query and ingest all International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP)-compatible products from the Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF), enabling access to a vast collection of historic and current mission data. The planned incorporation of Heliophysics Application Programmer’s Interface (HAPI) standards will facilitate data ingestion from distributed datasets that adhere to these standards. Although SPEDAS is currently Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based (and interfaces to Java-based tools such as Autoplot), efforts are under-way to expand it further to work with python (first as an interface tool and potentially even receiving an under-the-hood replacement). We review the SPEDAS development history, goals, and current implementation. We explain its “modes of use” with examples geared for users and outline its technical implementation and requirements with software developers in mind. We also describe SPEDAS personnel and software management, interfaces with other organizations, resources and support structure available to the community, and future development plans. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In this paper, we present an analysis of the internal structure of a coronal mass ejection (CME) detected by in situ instruments on board the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft during its first solar encounter. On 2018 November 11 at 23:53 UT, the FIELDS magnetometer measured an increase in strength of the magnetic field as well as a coherent change in the field direction. The SWEAP instrument simultaneously detected a low proton temperature and signatures of bidirectionality in the electron pitch angle distribution (PAD). These signatures are indicative of a CME embedded in the slow solar wind. Operating in conjunction with PSP was the STEREO A spacecraft, which enabled the remote observation of a streamer blowout by the SECCHI suite of instruments. The source at the Sun of the slow and well-structured flux rope was identified in an overlying streamer, the details of which are described in Korreck et al. Our detailed inspection of the internal transient structure magnetic properties suggests high complexity in deviations from an ideal flux rope 3D topology. Reconstructions of the magnetic field configuration reveal a highly distorted structure consistent with the highly elongated “bubble” observed remotely. A double-ring substructure observed in the SECCHI-COR2 field of view (FOV) is suggestive of a double internal flux rope. Furthermore, we describe a scenario in which mixed topology of a closed flux rope is combined with the magnetically open structure, which helps explain the flux dropout observed in the measurements of the electron PAD. Our justification for this is the plethora of structures observed by the EUV imager (SECCHI-EUVI) in the hours preceding the streamer blowout evacuation. Finally, taking advantage of the unique observations from PSP, we explore the first stages of the effects of coupling with the solar wind and the evolutionary processes in the magnetic structure. We found evidence of bifurcated current sheets in the structure boundaries, suggestive of magnetic reconnection. Our analysis of the internal force imbalance indicates that internal Lorentz forces continue to dominate the evolution of the structure in the COR2 FOV and serve as the main driver of the internal flux rope distortion detected in situ at PSP solar distance.

In the first orbit of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP), in situ thermal plasma and magnetic field measurements were collected as close as 35 R Sun from the Sun, an environment that had not been previously explored. During the first orbit of PSP, the spacecraft flew through a streamer blowout coronal mass ejection (SBO-CME) on 2018 November 11 at 23:50 UT as it exited the science encounter. The SBO-CME on November 11 was directed away from the Earth and was not visible by L1 or Earth-based telescopes due to this geometric configuration. However, PSP and the STEREO -A spacecraft were able to make observations of this slow (v ≈ 380 km s−1) SBO-CME. Using the PSP data, STEREO-A images, and Wang–Sheeley–Arge model, the source region of the CME is found to be a helmet streamer formed between the northern polar coronal hole and a mid-latitude coronal hole. Using the YGUAZU-A model, the propagation of the CME is traced from the source at the Sun to PSP. This model predicts the travel time of the flux rope to the PSP spacecraft as 30 hr, which is within 0.33 hr of the actual measured arrival time. The in situ Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons data were examined to determine that no shock was associated with this SBO-CME. Modeling of the SBO-CME shows that no shock was present at PSP; however, at other positions along the SBO-CME front, a shock could have formed. The geometry of the event requires in situ and remote sensing observations to characterize the SBO-CME and further understand its role in space weather.

[1] The effect of magnetospheric substorms on the ring current is not completely understood. Using a combination of the University of Michigan's BAT-S-RUS Model and Fok Ring Current Model, we modeled the effects of multiple substorms on the ring current by modeling multiple dipolarizations in the tail. Increasing the number of substorms corresponds to increases in the number of injections into the ring current. The ionospheric potential increases during periods of southward IMF. Energy increases are more dependent on the duration of large ionospheric potential than the number of substorm dipolarizations.