LIP researchers take part in international study on solar ejections
"An international study with LIP participation analyses the evolution of solar ejections using multi-point observations in the inner Solar System."
An international study recently published in The Astrophysical Journal presents new results on the spatio-temporal evolution of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), solar phenomena that can affect the space environment and cosmic ray activity in the inner Solar System.
Led by researchers from the University of Tokyo, the work included the participation of LIP researchers and is based on multi-point observations collected by several space missions, including the BepiColombo mission, currently en route to Mercury, as well as data from Solar Orbiter, Wind, and cosmic ray detection instruments on Earth.
The study provides a detailed analysis of an event that occurred in March 2022, making it possible to distinguish effects associated with the radial and longitudinal evolution of the solar ejection. One of the central contributions of the work is the scientific use of data from the Solar Particle Monitor (SPM), an instrument originally designed for technical monitoring onboard the BepiColombo/Mio spacecraft, which was calibrated and validated for scientific analysis.
Diagram to show the different satellites that made up the ad-hoc sensor network in this study. Their combined data helped paint a picture of how a CME in 2022 changed as it passed by the Earth on its way out of the solar system. ©2025 Kinoshita et al. CC-BY-ND
LIP’s participation in this work is part of the activities developed by the SpaceRad group, dedicated to the study of the space radiation environment and its effects. Over the past years, LIP has consolidated expertise in the analysis and modelling of radiation environments, the measurement of energetic particles, and the development of tools to study radiation effects in space missions, in close collaboration with international partners, particularly within projects of the European Space Agency.
This work is part of a broader set of scientific activities carried out by LIP in the context of the BepiColombo mission, including the recent presentation of results at international scientific forums dedicated to the study of Mercury’s space environment.
The original press release was issued by the University of Tokyo and is available online.
The scientific article is available in The Astrophysical Journal.