Multi-spacecraft Observations of the 2008 January 2 CME in the Inner Heliosphere

Abstract

We perform a detailed analysis of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on 2008 January 2. The combination of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and the twin STEREO spacecraft provides three-point observations of this CME. We track the CME in imaging observations and compare its morphology and kinematics viewed from different vantage points. The shape, angular width, distance, velocity, and acceleration of the CME front are different in the observations of these spacecraft. We also compare the efficiency of several methods, which convert the elongation angles of the CME front in images to radial distances. The results of our kinematic analysis demonstrate that this CME experiences a rapid acceleration at the early stage, which corresponds to the flash phase of the associated solar flare in time. Then, at a height of about 3.7 solar radius, the CME reaches a velocity of 790 km s^-1 and propagates outward without an obvious deceleration. Because of its propagation direction away from the observers, the CME is not detected in situ by either ACE or STEREO.