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U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) detailed an inverse relationship between the brightness of the solar corona and the velocity of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in a paper in The Astrophysical Journal on July 3.

The study, titled "The Relationship Between the Kinematics of Coronal Mass Ejections and the Brightness of the Corona," was authored by Kelly Victor-French, M.S., Karl Battams, Ph.D., and Brian E. Wood, Ph.D., all from NRL's Solar and Heliospheric 糖心视频ics Branch of the Space Science Division.

The team's analysis revealed a significant finding: the brighter the corona overlying active regions on the sun, the less likely high-velocity CMEs were to emerge from those regions.

"This unexpected relationship provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of the sun and its impact on the space environment," Victor-French said. "Understanding this connection could significantly improve our ability to forecast space weather events."

Using data from NRL's Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) on board the joint European Space Agency (ESA)-NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the NRL team compiled nearly three decades of observations of the solar corona. They studied the extensive dataset to investigate trends in the brightness of the sun's corona and compare them to CME velocities over the same period.

Their study found a strong correlation between the two datasets, with bright regions of the solar corona appearing to relate to substantially slower CME velocities and, in some cases, perhaps entirely precluding CMEs.

This research and the associated NRL data have important implications for the space weather community. Advanced knowledge of CME velocity is crucial for improving space weather forecasts, which in turn can lead to more accurate predictions of and solar particle events. These phenomena can disrupt satellite communications, power grids, and other critical infrastructure on Earth.

"Improved space weather forecasting is essential for protecting our technological infrastructure and ensuring the safety of astronauts in space," Victor-French said.

With the publication of these promising results, NRL will continue to explore this relationship and aims to develop a real-time data product for integration into existing space weather models. This ongoing effort promises to further enhance our ability to predict and mitigate the impacts of space weather events.