Kinematic characteristics of stealth CME in three-dimensional space

Abstract

We have studied and compared kinematic characteristics of the motion of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in three-dimensional (3D) space for three groups of CMEs for the period 2008–2014. These CME groups include: (i) stealth CMEs, (ii) CMEs that originate on the front side of the Sun (for an observer on Earth) and are associated with X-ray flares and filament eruption, (iii) all CMEs registered during the given period. Stealth CMEs are CMEs that emerge on the front side of the Sun and are unrelated to X-ray flares, as well as to filament eruption. We compare kinematic and some physical characteristics of these CMEs with those of a separate group of CMEs, classified as stealth in [D’Huys et al., 2014]. After comparing the characteristics of the three CME groups (i)–(iii), we concluded that stealth CMEs have, on average, the lowest velocity, kinetic energy, mass and angular size, central position angle, and also the angle φ between the direction of CME motion in the ecliptic plane and the Sun–Earth line and the angle λ between the direction of CME motion in 3D space and the ecliptic plane. We also discuss distributions of CMEs of different types by kinematic characteristics.