COR1 CME CATALOG: A Brief Description

This catalog is a list of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed by the COR1 instrument. COR1 is part of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission, composed of twin spacecraft, the Behind-Earth and the Ahead-Earth spacecraft. It is the inner coronagraph of the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) suite and has a field of view (FOV) from 1.4 to 4 solar radii.

The catalog contains all CMEs manually identified since December 2006, which have width greater than 10 degrees, including faint events that are often missed by auto-detection methods. Events from STEREO-A and B are noted separately. The catalog consists of a set of monthly tables. The blue rows in the table give general information for each day and there is a green row giving specific information for each CME observed. Columns 1-2 in blue rows are the total number of observed COR1 images, and over what time span. The first three columns in green rows list the CME date, CME COR1-B movie, CME first appearance time on the COR1-B FOV. Column 4 gives a brief description of the CME, such as its rough location, brightness, width and morphology. Column 5 provides solar source signatures, including eruptive filaments (prominences), X-ray flares, EUV waves, and dimming. Column 6 is the separation angle between STEREO A and B and Earth. Columns 7-11 provide the corresponding CME observed from STEREO-A, which list the CME date, CME COR1-A movie, CME first appearance time on the COR1-A FOV, a brief description of the CME and its solar source signatures.

Starting from solar cycle (SC) 25, the catalog was updated by including COR2 and LASCO C2 movies and links to in-situ interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs), particle events and type II radio data. Note that, in 2014, contact with STEREO-B was lost after entering an uncontrolled spin preventing its solar panels from generating enough power. After that the catalog contains only STEREO-A events. In addition, there is data gap between 2014 and 2015 for STEREO-A due to its position almost directly behind the sun and it was transmitting only a weak signal or occasionally none. STEREO-A resumed its normal operation in November 2015.

Entries for STEREO-A during SC 25 are as follows. Columns 4-6 list the CME date, COR1 and COR2 movies, and the time of first appearance in the COR1-A FOV (for COR2-only CMEs, the time of first appearance in the COR2-A FOV is listed). Columns 7 provides a brief description of observed event features, including CME rough location, brightness, width and morphology. Column 8 links a number of movies: STEREO EUV movies, C2 movies with GOES X-ray light curves, and Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) AIA movies to the solar source signatures. Column 9 gives the links to STEREO-A in-situ and radio beacon data. Columns 10-11 contain information for associated ICMEs and solar energetic particle (SEP) events.

Acknowledgement

When any data from this catalog is used, we request an acknowledgment as follows: This COR1 CME catalog is generated and maintained by GSFC STEREO COR1 team. The STEREO SECCHI data are produced by an international consortium of the NRL, LMSAL, NASA GSFC (USA), RAL and the University of Birmingham (UK), MPS (Germany), CSL (Belgium), and IOTA and IAS (France)."

References

The following are several publications, which are relevant to STEREO COR1 and COR2 CME observations and the associated ICME and SEP properties. Interested readers may consult them.

1. Vourlidas, L. A. Balmaceda, H. Xie, and O. C. St. Cyr, The Coronal Mass Ejection Visibility Function of Modern Coronagraphs, ApJ, 900,161,2020.

Description: To properly evaluate the field of view, instrumental effects, and projection effects, the observations from COR1, COR2 and LASCO coronagraphs are inspected separately, and joint CME lists are constructed for five time periods, where LASCO is treated as a single instrument for the visibility function study.

2. Xie, H., N. Gopalswamy and S. Akiyama, The Structural Connection between CME Flux Ropes near the Sun and at 1 AU, ApJ, 922,64,2021.

Description: Comparison of flux rope structures among solar source regions, CMEs in the corona, and MCs at 1 AU, using STEREO COR1/COR2, SOHO, EUVI/SDO EUV, and in-situ measurements. URL The Structural Connection between Coronal Mass Ejection Flux Ropes near the Sun and at 1 au.

3. Xie, H., O. C. St. Cyr, P. Mäkelä, and N. Gopalswamy, Statistical Study on Multi-spacecraft Widespread Solar Energetic Particle Events during Solar Cycle 24, Journal of Geophysical Research, Space Physics, 124, 63846402, 2019.

Description: A statistical correlation study on three-spacecraft SEP intensity, coronal mass ejection (CME) shock speed, width, and the kinetic energy of the CMEs. URL Statistical Study on Multispacecraft Widespread Solar Energetic Particle Events During Solar Cycle 24