Automatic detection method of coronal mass ejection by digital image analysis

Abstract

This paper intends to present and validate a new automated methodology to detect coronal mass ejections (CME) and determine its dynamics, using
digital image processing. This methodology allows determining the CME radial and lateral expansion dynamics. The CME dynamics is determined by selecting a radial
direction in a given LASCO image, which starts just before the occulter and extends to the extremity of the image. By taking a series of images, extracting the same radial
direction from them and placing them side by side, it is possible to obtain a time history of any moving feature along this direction. This technique allows to choose the
number of directions that will be used in CMEs detecting, i.e., in determining their dynamics.