Measured energy exchange in coronal hole solar wind from its solar origins to the heliosphere
Abstract
The 2024 total solar eclipse over North America provided a multi-perspective view of the Sun and solar wind through combined ground (DKIST, Mauna Loa Solar Observatory UCoMP and K-Cor) and space (Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, LASCO, Hinode) -based remote and in situ observations. Through a multi-mission coordinated effort, we examine near-contemporaneous and multi-wavelength observations of the corona to derive detailed plasma conditions and magnetic field properties used to compute an energy budget of an equatorial coronal hole. The remote properties of nascent coronal hole wind are connected to its heliospheric counterpart sampled by Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter during a fortuitous spacecraft alignment. Together, the Alfvén wave, enthalpy, kinetic, and gravitational energy fluxes of a single solar wind stream can be traced from deep in the corona (subsonic regime), across the Alfvén surface and beyond, providing critical constraints to the mass and energy flow in the atmosphere of our star. Our main results show that a hydrodynamic framework with added Alfvén wave forcing accurately describes radial solar wind observations. Comparisons between measured magnetic and velocity fluctuations and the radial scaling of the WKB approximation indicate significant dissipation below the Alfvén surface.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
Stellar
planetary
and galactic studies
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
- Publication date
- 14 March 2026
- Language
- EN