Seventeen-Spacecraft Observation Reveals Two-Part Solar Eruption
A December 2024 coronal mass ejection was tracked by a record 17 spacecraft spread across the solar system, showing the eruption consisted of two asymmetric lobes traveling at different speeds rather than a single front. This wide, off-axis coverage allowed scientists to reconstruct the CME’s two-dimensional shape and evolution, improving forecasts of how such solar storms propagate and boosting warning time for future crewed missions beyond Earth. Observations came from missions including SOHO, SDO, STEREO-A, MMS, ARTEMIS, Wind, ACE, GOES, DSCOVR, BepiColombo, MAVEN, Solar Orbiter, Europa Clipper, and others; the findings were published in Science Advances.