J. M. Clover

Exquisite Nova Light Curves from the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI)

We present light curves of three classical novae (KT Eridani, V598 Puppis, V1280 Scorpii) and one recurrent nova (RS Ophiuchi) derived from data obtained by the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) on board the Coriolis satellite. SMEI provides near complete sky-map coverage with precision visible-light photometry at 102-minute cadence. The light curves derived from these sky maps offer unprecedented temporal resolution around, and especially before, maximum light, a phase of the nova eruption normally not covered by ground-based observations. They allow us to explore fundamental parameters of individual objects including the epoch of the initial explosion, the reality and duration of any pre-maximum halt (found in all three fast novae in our sample), the presence of secondary maxima, speed of decline of the initial light curve, plus precise timing of the onset of dust formation (in V1280 Sco) leading to estimation of the bolometric luminosity, white dwarf mass and object distance. For KT Eri, Liverpool Telescope SkyCamT data confirm important features of the SMEI light curve and overall our results add weight to the proposed similarities of this object to recurrent rather than to classical novae. In RS Oph, comparison with hard X-ray data from the 2006 outburst implies that the onset of the outburst coincides with extensive high velocity mass-loss. It is also noted that two of the four novae we have detected (V598 Pup and KT Eri) were only discovered by ground-based observers weeks or months after maximum light, yet these novae reached peak magnitudes of 3.46 and 5.42 respectively. This emphasizes the fact that many bright novae per year are still overlooked, particularly those of the very fast speed class. Coupled with its ability to observe novae in detail even when relatively close to the Sun in the sky, we estimate that as many as 5 novae per year may be detectable by SMEI.

Analysis of Plasma-Tail Motions for Comets C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) Using Observations from SMEI

Comets C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) passed within � 0.3 AU of Earth in April and May of 2004. Their tails were observed by the Earth-orbiting Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) during this period. A time series of photometric SMEI sky maps displays the motions and frequent disruptions of the comet plasma tails. Ephemerides are used to unfold the observing geometry; the tails are often seen to extend � 0.5 AU from the comet nuclei. Having selected 12 of the more prominent motions as ‘‘events’’ for further study, we introduce a new method for determining solar wind radial velocities from these SMEI observations. We find little correlation between these and the changing solar wind parameters as measured close to Earth, or with coarse three-dimensional reconstructions using interplanetary scintillation data. A likely explanation is that the transverse sizes of the solar wind perturbations responsible for these disruptions are small, P0.05 AU. We determine the radial velocities of these events during the disruptions,usingatechniqueonlypossiblewhentheobservedcomettailsextendoverasignificantfractionof anAU. We find typical radial velocities during these events of 50Y100 km s � 1 lower than before or afterward. Time durations of such events vary, typically from 3 to 8 hr, and correspond to comet traversal distances � 10 6 km (0.007 AU). We conclude that these large disturbances are primarily due to ubiquitous solar wind flow variations, of which these measured events are a subset. Subject headingg comets: individual (C/2001 Q4 (NEAT), C/2002 T7 (LINEAR), C/2004 F4 (Bradfield)) — solar wind — Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs)

OUTBURST OF COMET 17P/HOLMES OBSERVED WITH THE SOLAR MASS EJECTION IMAGER

We present time-resolved photometric observations of Jupiter family comet 17P/Holmes during its dramatic outburst of 2007. The observations, from the orbiting Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI), provide the most complete measure of the whole-coma brightness, free from the effects of instrumental saturation and with a time-resolution well-matched to the rapid brightening of the comet. The lightcurve is divided into two distinct parts. A rapid rise between the first SMEI observation on UT 2007 October 24 06h 37m (mid-integration) and UT 2007 October 25, is followed by a slow decline until the last SMEI observation on UT 2008 April 6 22h 16m (mid-integration). We find that the rate of change of the brightness is reasonably well-described by a Gaussian function having a central time of UT 2007 October 24.54+/-0.01 and a full-width-at-half-maximum 0.44+/-0.02 days. The maximum rate of brightening occurs some 1.2 days after the onset of activity. At the peak the scattering cross-section grows at 1070+/-40 km^2/s while the (model-dependent) mass loss rates inferred from the lightcurve reach a maximum at 3+/-10^5 kg/s. The integrated mass in the coma lies in the range (2 to 90)x10^10 kg, corresponding to 0.2% to 10% of the nucleus mass, while the kinetic energy of the ejecta is (0.6 to 30) MTonnes TNT. The particulate coma mass could be contained within a shell on the nucleus of thickness ~1.5 to 60 m. This is comparable to the distance traveled by conducted heat in the century since the previous outburst of 17P/Holmes. This coincidence is consistent with, but does not prove, the idea that the outburst was triggered by the action of conducted heat, possibly through the crystallization of buried amorphous ice.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTIONS AND MASS DETERMINATION OF THE 2008 JUNE 2 LASCO CORONAL MASS EJECTION USING STELab INTERPLANETARY SCINTILLATION OBSERVATIONS

We examine and reconstruct the interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) first seen in space-based coronagraph white-light difference images on 2008 June 1 and 2. We use observations of interplanetary scintillation (IPS) taken with the Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory (STELab), Japan, in our three-dimensional (3D) tomographic reconstruction of density and velocity. The coronal mass ejection (CME) was first observed by the LASCO C3 instrument at around 04:17 UT on 2008 June 2. Its motion subsequently moved across the C3 field of view with a plane-of-the-sky velocity of 192 km s{sup -1}. The 3D reconstructed ICME is consistent with the trajectory and extent of the CME measurements taken from the CDAW CME catalog. However, excess mass estimates vary by an order of magnitude from Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory coronagraphs to our 3D IPS reconstructions of the inner heliosphere. We discuss the discrepancies and give possible explanations for these differences as well as give an outline for future studies.

Solar Wind Speed Inferred from Cometary Plasma Tails using Observations from STEREO HI-1

The high temporal and spatial resolution of heliospheric white-light imagers enables us to measure the propagation of plasma tails of bright comets as they travel through the interplanetary medium. Plasma tails of comets have been recognized for many years as natural probes of the solar wind. Using a new technique developed at the University of California, San Diego to measure the radial motion of the plasma tails, we measure the ambient solar wind speed, for the first time in situ at comets 2P/Encke and 96P/Machholz. We determine the enhanced solar wind speeds during an interplanetary coronal mass ejection encounter with 2P/Encke and compare these to previously modeled values, and also present solar wind speeds covering a range of latitudes for 96P/Machholz. We here apply this technique using images from the Sun-Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation Heliospheric Imagers (HI-1) on board the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory-Ahead spacecraft.

SMEI 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF A CORONAL MASS EJECTION INTERACTING WITH A COROTATING SOLAR WIND DENSITY ENHANCEMENT: THE 2008 APRIL 26 CME

The Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) has recorded the brightness responses of hundreds of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the interplanetary medium. Using a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technique that derives its perspective views from outward-flowing solar wind, analysis of SMEI data has revealed the shapes, extents, and masses of CMEs. Here, for the first time, and using SMEI data, we report on the 3D reconstruction of a CME that intersects a corotating region marked by a curved density enhancement in the ecliptic. Both the CME and the corotating region are reconstructed and demonstrate that the CME disrupts the otherwise regular density pattern of the corotating material. Most of the dense CME material passes north of the ecliptic and east of the Sun-Earth line: thus, in situ measurements in the ecliptic near Earth and at the Solar-TErrestrial RElations Observatory Behind spacecraft show the CME as a minor density increase in the solar wind. The mass of the dense portion of the CME is consistent with that measured by the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft, and is comparable to the masses of many other three-dimensionally reconstructed solar wind features at 1 AU observed in SMEI 3D reconstructions.

Using comet plasma tails to study the solar wind

The plasma tails of comets have been used as probes of the solar wind for many years, and well before direct solar wind measurements. Now, analyses utilizing the much greater regularity and extent of comet tails imaged from space detail outward solar wind flow much better than was previously possible. These analyses mark the location of the solar wind flow in three-dimensions over time much as do in-situ measurements. Data from comet plasma tails using coronagraphs and heliospheric white-light imagers provide a view closer to the Sun than where spacecraft have ventured to date. These views show that this flow is chaotic and highly variable, and not the benign regular outward motion of a quiescent plasma. While this is no surprise to those who study and characterize the solar wind in situ or use remotely-sensed interplanetary scintillation (IPS) techniques, these spacecraft images provide a visualization of this as never-before possible. Here we summarize the results of an analysis that determines solar wi...

Nova light curves from the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) - II. The extended catalog

We present the results from observing nine Galactic novae in eruption with the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) between 2004 and 2009. While many of these novae reached peak magnitudes that were either at or approaching the detection limits of SMEI, we were still able to produce light curves that in many cases contained more data at and around the initial rise, peak, and decline than those found in other variable star catalogs. For each nova, we obtained a peak time, maximum magnitude, and for several an estimate of the decline time (t2). Interestingly, although of lower quality than those found in Hounsell et al. (2010a), two of the light curves may indicate the presence of a pre-maximum halt. In addition the high cadence of the SMEI instrument has allowed the detection of low amplitude variations in at least one of the nova light curves.

3D Reconstruction of Density Enhancements Behind Interplanetary Shocks from Solar Mass Ejection Imager White-Light Observations

The Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) observes the increased brightness from the density enhancements behind interplanetary shocks that are also observed in situ near the Earth. We use the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) time‐dependent three‐dimensional (3D) reconstruction technique to map the extents of these density enhancements. Here, we examine shock‐density enhancements associated with several well‐known interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) including those on 30 May 2003 and on 21 January 2005. We compare these densities with reconstructed velocities from the Solar‐Terrestrial Environment Laboratory (STELab) interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations for the 30 May 2003 ICME, and show the shock is present at the front edge of the reconstructed high speed solar wind. The SMEI analyses certify that the brightness enhancements observed behind shocks identified and measured in situ near Earth are a direct response to the plasma density enhancements that follow the shocked plasma.

Large‐Scale Heliospheric Structure during Solar‐Minimum Conditions using a 3D Time‐Dependent Reconstruction Solar‐Wind Model and STELab IPS Observations

Interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations provide information about a large portion of the inner heliosphere. We have used Solar‐Terrestrial Environment Laboratory (STELab) IPS velocity and g‐level observations with our three‐dimensional (3D) reconstruction model to determine velocities and densities of the inner heliosphere in three dimensions. We present these observations using synoptic maps generated from our time‐dependent model that can measure changes with durations of less than one day. These synopses show large‐scale stable solar‐wind structure during solar‐minimum conditions in relation to transients that are present during this period. These are also available as differences relative to the background. Here, we concentrate primarily on data covering the 2007–2009 International Heliophysical Year (IHY).