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The Sun is the basic driver of Space Weather. The solar events with greatest impact on the aerospace environment are solar eruptions, i.e., those solar events which involve coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While CMEs were discovered over 30 years ago (e.g., Koomen et al., 1974), the general recognition of their importance for space weather took place more recently (Kahler, 1992; Gosling, 1993). Today CMEs are recognized as: (1) the proximate source of geomagnetic storms that heat the neutral atmosphere and increase satellite drag CMEs; and (2) the drivers of strong shocks that accelerate energetic particles that degrade sensors and solar panels on spacecraft. CMEs have been studied in detail using space borne coronagraphs (e.g., Hundhausen et al., 1993; St. Cyr et al., 1999; Gopalswamy, 2003)) and solar imagers such as the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope on SOHO (Delaboudiniére et al., 1995).
Short description of the task performed by Croatian partner
Archived and on-going observations from the Optical Solar Patrol Network (OSPAN) telescope at NSO/Sacramento Peak in conjunction with space-based data will be used to investigate the origins and dynamics of geoeffective solar eruptions. We will analyze the OSPAN images and movies of such events to deduce the pre-event magnetic field topology, the eruption trigger process, and the origins of the associated propagating phenomena in the low solar atmosphere (Moreton waves, EIT waves, radio bursts). Our goal is to provide guidance for physics-based models of eruptive flares and their coronal responses.