Structure of the Plasma near the Heliospheric Current Sheet as Seen by WISPR/Parker Solar Probe from inside the Streamer Belt

Liewer, Paulett C.; Vourlidas, A.; Stenborg, G.; Howard, R. A.; Qiu, Jiong; Penteado, P.; Panasenco, O.; Braga, Carlos Roberto

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acc8c7

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…A few images from the WISPR Inner camera containing the 2022 February 15 CME in its field of view are shown in Figure 12. These data were processed via the L3 algorithm developed by the WISPR instrument team and described in Liewer et al (2023). During our period of interest (2022 February 15-17, i.e., approximately 10 days before the E11 perihelion), WISPR was pointing over the western limb of the Sun (from Parker's viewpoint), as can be seen by the streamer emanating from the left of each frame in Figure 12.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Mesoscale Structure of Coronal Mass Ejections at Mercury’s Orbit: BepiColombo and Parker Solar Probe Observations

Palmerio,

Carcaboso,

Khoo

et al. 2024

ApJ

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On 2022 February 15, an impressive filament eruption was observed off the solar eastern limb from three remote-sensing viewpoints, namely, Earth, STEREO-A, and Solar Orbiter. In addition to representing the most-distant observed filament at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths—captured by Solar Orbiter's field of view extending to above 6 R ⊙—this event was also associated with the release of a fast (∼2200 km s−1) coronal mass ejection (CME) that was directed toward BepiColombo and Parker Solar Probe. These two probes were separated by 2° in latitude, 4° in longitude, and 0.03 au in radial distance around the time of the CME-driven shock arrival in situ. The relative proximity of the two probes to each other and the Sun (∼0.35 au) allows us to study the mesoscale structure of CMEs at Mercury's orbit for the first time. We analyze similarities and differences in the main CME-related structures measured at the two locations, namely, the interplanetary shock, the sheath region, and the magnetic ejecta. We find that, despite the separation between the two spacecraft being well within the typical uncertainties associated with determination of CME geometric parameters from remote-sensing observations, the two sets of in situ measurements display some profound differences that make understanding the overall 3D CME structure particularly challenging. Finally, we discuss our findings within the context of space weather at Mercury's distance and in terms of the need to investigate solar transients via spacecraft constellations with small separations, which has been gaining significant attention during recent years.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Mesoscale Structure of Coronal Mass Ejections at Mercury’s Orbit: BepiColombo and Parker Solar Probe Observations

Palmerio,

Carcaboso,

Khoo

et al. 2024

ApJ

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“…A snapshot of the combined WISPR FOV on 2022 September 5 at 17:30 UT is shown in Figure 8. This image has been processed via the L3 Algorithm developed by the WISPR team and detailed in the Appendix of Liewer et al (2023). High particle density is associated with brighter regions in the white-light image.…”

Section: Cme Reconstruction From Remote Sensingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Near-Sun In Situ and Remote-sensing Observations of a Coronal Mass Ejection and its Effect on the Heliospheric Current Sheet

Romeo,

Braga,

Badman

et al. 2023

ApJ

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During the thirteenth encounter of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission, the spacecraft traveled through a topologically complex interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) beginning on 2022 September 5. PSP traversed through the flank and wake of the ICME while observing the event for nearly two days. The Solar Probe ANalyzer and FIELDS instruments collected in situ measurements of the plasma particles and magnetic field at ∼13.3 R S from the Sun. We observe classical ICME signatures, such as a fast-forward shock, bidirectional electrons, low proton temperatures, low plasma β, and high alpha particle to proton number density ratios. In addition, PSP traveled through two magnetic inversion lines, a magnetic reconnection exhaust, and multiple sub-Alfvénic regions. We compare these in situ measurements to remote-sensing observations from the Wide-field Imager for Solar PRobe Plus instrument on board PSP and the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation on the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. Based on white-light coronagraphs, two CMEs are forward modeled to best fit the extent of the event. Furthermore, Air Force Data Assimilative Flux Transport magnetograms modeled from Global Oscillation Network Group magnetograms and Potential Field Source Surface modeling portray a global reconfiguration of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) after the CME event, suggesting that these eruptions play a significant role in the evolution of the HCS.

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“…Two bright blobs were identified as potential HCS flux ropes. They note that one of the blobs was shown to be located near the HCS in an independent study (Liewer et al 2023). A series of four and five blobs were seen on 2 days with estimated periodicities of 2-3 hr, which they suggest is related to the resistive tearing-mode periodicity and not the much longer timescale associated with the episodic pressure-driven reformation of the helmet streamer cusp seen in the simulations of Réville et al (2020Réville et al ( , 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Evidence of Continuous Reconnection along a Helmet Streamer Current Sheet Observed by WISPR on Parker Solar Probe

Liewer,

Gallagher,

Stenborg

et al. 2024

ApJ

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Parker Solar Probe's second solar encounter from 2019 March 30 to April 11 occurred during a period when the corona had a simple magnetic structure and relatively flat heliospheric current sheet (HCS), which was in the field of view of the Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) throughout. The images show an almost continual flow of transient density enhancements (streamer blobs) of various sizes near the latitude of the HCS during the entire 11 day encounter period. The high resolution and sensitivity of WISPR reveal the structure of some of the individual blobs not seen in observations from 1 au. Many of the blobs show dark central cores, suggesting that they are magnetic flux ropes. The 3D trajectories and sizes of four representative streamer blobs have been determined using the tracking and fitting technique of Liewer et al. (2020). Comparison of the location of these blobs with synoptic white-light maps for this time period, created using data from the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (Brueckner et al. 1995) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, confirms that the blobs are at the location of the helmet streamer associated with the HCS. The blobs were observed in the region beyond 15 R ☉. The continual flow of blobs, the confirmation of their location at the HCS, and their flux-rope-like appearance provide strong evidence that the process of reconnection across the current sheet dominates the slow wind near the HCS.

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Structure of the Plasma near the Heliospheric Current Sheet as Seen by WISPR/Parker Solar Probe from inside the Streamer Belt

Cited by 10 publications

References 48 publications

On the Mesoscale Structure of Coronal Mass Ejections at Mercury’s Orbit: BepiColombo and Parker Solar Probe Observations

On the Mesoscale Structure of Coronal Mass Ejections at Mercury’s Orbit: BepiColombo and Parker Solar Probe Observations

Near-Sun In Situ and Remote-sensing Observations of a Coronal Mass Ejection and its Effect on the Heliospheric Current Sheet

Evidence of Continuous Reconnection along a Helmet Streamer Current Sheet Observed by WISPR on Parker Solar Probe

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