Aims. Understanding how magnetic fields are structured within coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and how they evolve from the low corona into the heliosphere, is a major challenge for space weather forecasting and for solar physics. The study of CME morphology is a particularly auspicious approach to this problem, given that it holds a close relationship with the CME magnetic field configuration. Although earlier studies have suggested an asymmetry in the width of CMEs in orthogonal directions, this has not been inspected using multi-viewpoint observations. Methods. The improved spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution, added to the multiple vantage points offered by missions of the Heliophysics System Observatory, constitute a unique opportunity to gain insight into this regard. We inspect the early evolution (below ten solar radii) of the morphology of a dozen CMEs occurring under specific conditions of observing spacecraft location and CME trajectory, favorable to reduce uncertainties typically involved in the 3D reconstruction used here. These events are carefully reconstructed by means of a forward modeling tool using simultaneous observations of the Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) as input when originating low in the corona, and followed up in the outer fields of view of the STEREO and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) coronagraphs. We then examine the height evolution of the morphological parameters arising from the reconstructions.Results. The multi-viewpoint analysis of this set of CMEs revealed that their initial expansion -below three solar radii-is considerably asymmetric and non-self-similar. Both angular widths, namely along the main axes of CMEs (AW L ) and in the orthogonal direction (AW D , representative of the flux rope diameter), exhibit much steeper change rates below this height, with the growth rate of AW L found to be larger than that of AW D , also below that height. Angular widths along the main axes of CMEs are on average ≈ 1.8 times larger than widths in the orthogonal direction AW D . The ratios of the two expansion speeds, namely in the directions of CMEs main axes and in their orthogonal, are nearly constant in time after ∼ 4 solar radii, with an average ratio ≈ 1.6. Heights at which the width change rate is defined to stabilize are greater for AW L than for AW D .

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are among the most magnificent solar eruptions, are a major driver of space weather and can thus affect diverse human technologies. Different processes have been proposed to explain the initiation and release of CMEs from solar active regions (ARs), without reaching consensus on which is the predominant scenario, and thus rendering impossible to accurately predict when a CME is going to erupt from a given AR. To investigate AR magnetic properties that favor CMEs production, we employ multi-spacecraft data to analyze a long duration AR (NOAA 11089, 11100, 11106, 11112 and 11121) throughout its complete lifetime, spanning five Carrington rotations from July to November 2010. We use data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory to study the evolution of the AR magnetic properties during the five near-side passages, and a proxy to follow the magnetic flux changes when no magnetograms are available, i.e. during farside transits. The ejectivity is studied by characterizing the angular widths, speeds and masses of 108 CMEs that we associated to the AR, when examining a 124-day period. Such an ejectivity tracking was possible thanks to the mulit-viewpoint images provided by the Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory in a quasi-quadrature configuration. We also inspected the X-ray flares registered by the GOES satellite and found 162 to be associated to the AR under study. Given the substantial number of ejections studied, we use a statistical approach instead of a single-event analysis. We found three well defined periods of very high CMEs activity and two periods with no mass ejections that are preceded or accompanied by characteristic changes in the AR magnetic flux, free magnetic energy and/or presence of electric currents. Our large sample of CMEs and long term study of a single AR, provide further evidence relating AR magnetic activity to CME and Flare production.

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Unknown aspects of the initiation, evolution, and associated phenomena of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), together with their capability of perturbing the fragile technological equilibrium on which nowadays society depends, turn them a compelling subject of study. While space weather forecasts are thus far not able to predict when and where in the Sun will the next CME take place, various CME triggering mechanisms have been proposed, without reaching consensus on which is the predominant one. To improve our knowledge in these respects, we investigate a long-duration active region throughout its life, from birth until decay along five solar rotations, in connection with its production of ejective events. We benefit from the wealth of solar remote-sensing data with improved temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution provided by the ground-breaking space missions STEREO, SDO, and SOHO. During the investigated time interval, which covers the months July – November 2010, the STEREO spacecraft were nearly 180 degrees apart, allowing for the uninterrupted tracking of the active region and its ensuing CMEs. The ejective aspect is examined from multi-viewpoint coronagraphic images, while the dynamics of the active region photospheric magnetic field are inspected by means of SDO/HMI data for specific subintervals of interest. The ultimate goal of this work in progress is to identify common patterns in the ejective aspect that can be connected with the active region characteristics.