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