Automatic near-real-time detection of CMEs in Mauna Loa K-Cor coronagraph images

The difference in effectiveness with solar cycle is attributed to the relative prevalence of strong CMEs between active and quiet periods. There were also 12 false detections, leading to an average false detection rate of 8.6%. The K-Cor data were also compared with major solar energetic particle (SEP) storms during this time period.

There were three SEP events detected either at Earth or at one of the two STEREO spacecraft when K-Cor was observing during the relevant time period. The algorithm successfully generated alerts for two of these events, with lead times of 1-3h before the SEP onset at 1AU. The third event was not detected by the automatic algorithm because of the unusually broad width in position angle.