Larry,
First, thanks for looking at this. I have a strong interest in figuring
out
how to tell if a CME from the Sun is going to come within about 7.5
Million
miles of the earth. A second level of information needed is to understand
the energy level of the particles that are going by us at a given time.
A really great end game for this inquiry would be to understand how to
look
at a CME event and to quickly determine if the CME will come within about
7.5 Million miles of the earth.
My limited understanding of this subject is that we currently have a
two-dimensional view of what is obviously a three-dimensional process. With
this limitation, it is difficult to predict the arrival time or severity of
the effects from a CME. If an ejection occurs from the Sun's limb, it is
unlikely to be earth-directed, of course. But predictions of CME's from the
rest of the visible side of the Sun appear to be vague, until they arrive at
satellites in near earth orbit.
I remember seeing a TV special that described plans for locating satellites
at the Lagrange points, thus providing 3-d viewing.
John Andrews, W1TAG
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