Detection and Characterization of a Coronal Mass Ejection Using Interplanetary Scintillation Measurements From the Murchison Widefield Array

Abstract

We have shown previously that the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), can detect 100s of Interplanetary Scintillation (IPS) sources simultaneously across a field of view (FoV) ∼30° in extent. To test if we can use this capability to track heliospheric structures, we undertook a search of 88 hr of MWA IPS data, and identified an observation likely to have a significant Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) in the FoV. We demonstrate that in a single 5-min MWA observation we are able to localize and image a CME ∼33 hr after launch at an elongation of ∼37° from the Sun. We use IPS observables to constrain the kinematics of the CME, and describe how MWA IPS observations can be used in the future to make a unique contribution to heliospheric modeling efforts.