A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF THE 2006 DECEMBER 13 CME: FROM THE SUN TO INTERPLANETARY SPACE

The biggest halo coronal mass ejection (CME) since the Halloween storm in 2003, which occurred on 2006 December 13, is studied in terms of its solar source and heliospheric consequences. The CME was accompanied by an X3.4 flare, EUV dimmings, and coronal waves. It generated significant space weather effects such as an interplanetary shock, radio bursts, major solar energetic particle (SEP) events, and a magnetic cloud (MC) that were detected by a fleet of spacecraft including STEREO, ACE, WIND, and Ulysses. Reconstruction of the MC with the Grad-Shafranov (GS) method yields an axis orientation oblique to the flare ribbons. Observations of the SEP intensities and anisotropies show that the particles can be trapped, deflected, and reaccelerated by the large-scale transient structures. The CME-driven shock was observed at both the Earth and Ulysses when they were separated by 74 degrees in latitude and 117 degrees in longitude, which is the largest shock extent ever detected. The ejecta seem to have been missed at Ulysses. The shock arrival time at Ulysses is well predicted by an MHD model that can propagate the 1 AU data outward. The CME/shock is tracked remarkably well from the Sun all the way to Ulysses by coronagraph images, type II frequency drift, in situ measurements, and the MHD model. These results reveal a technique that combines MHD propagation of the solar wind and type II emissions to predict the shock arrival time at the Earth, which is a significant advance for space weather forecasting, especially when in situ data become available from the Solar Orbiter and Solar Sentinels.