New Method Can Detect 'Stealth' Solar Storms Before They Strike Earth - ScienceAlert

Unfortunately, the same sensing techniques are not able to detect the most important kind of CMEs – those that are aimed right for us but don't cause any brightening.  .

These CMEs, which don't produce any telltale signs on the Sun's surface, are known as "stealth" CMEs.

Usually, we only notice these when they actually hit the Earth, and don't have a good indication of where they formed on the Sun. However, the researchers used data collected on four stealth CMEs by NASA's STEREO spacecraft that did in fact track them back to their origins on the Sun.

When they subsequently analyzed those origin points with other data collected simultaneously, they noticed a changing brightening pattern that appeared for all four stealth CMEs.

It can also help with an even more challenging problem – detecting "super-stealth CMEs", which don't show up on a coronagraph, a standard tool used to detect other types of solar flares.  .