Magnetic reconnection at the near-Sun heliospheric current sheet (HCS) dissipates the Parker spiral and converts magnetic energy into plasma kinetic energy. During Encounter 14 at a radial distance of similar to 16.25 R circle dot, Parker Solar Probe observed an HCS crossing where reconnection-driven acceleration-likely facilitated by merging large-scale flux tubes-energized protons up to similar to 400 keV. This energy gain is approximate to 1000 times greater than the available magnetic energy per particle. We present here a comprehensive analysis of pitch-angle distributions and differential energy spectra for protons and heavy ions (He, O, and Fe) in conjunction with local wave activity during this crossing. Our results provide the first direct in situ observations of simultaneous proton and heavy-ion energization during HCS reconnection. Crucially, we find that heavy-ion power-law spectral indices differ significantly from those of protons, contradicting previous simulations that predict species-independent slopes. We further demonstrate that ion beams and anisotropies produced during reconnection drive waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies. Finally, we show that proton pitch-angle scattering is stronger than that of heavy ions, which may account for the flatter spectra or harder spectral indices observed in the heavy-ion populations. These observations provide definitive evidence for in situ reconnection-driven acceleration at the near-Sun HCS and necessitate the inclusion of species-dependent transport and acceleration efficiencies in contemporary reconnection-based particle energization models.

The payload of the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) includes sophisticated in situ instruments to measure solar wind plasma and magnetic fields, suprathermal and energetic particles at 1 au as well as unprecedented remote sensing instruments to observe the energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) in the outer heliosphere and the ultraviolet glow of the interstellar neutral H interacting with the three-dimensional solar wind. This unique combination of sensors on a single platform allows connections to be made between the inner and outer heliosphere to an extent never before possible. This article focuses on the scientific theme of connecting the physics of particle acceleration and transport throughout the heliosphere. Such studies enabled by IMAP are organized into three broad categories: i) fundamental particle acceleration and transport processes, ii) heliospheric variability that affects those processes, and iii) inner heliospheric science.

We investigate the variability of the east–west asymmetry in energetic storm particle (ESP) heavy ion intensities at interplanetary shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) during solar cycles (SCs) 23 and 24. We analyze helium (He), oxygen (O), and iron (Fe) intensities in the energy range of ∼0.13–3 MeV/nucleon, using observations from NASA’s ACE and STEREO missions. We examine the longitudinal distribution of ESP intensities and their correlation with the near-Sun CME speed and average transit CME speed, distinguishing between eastern and western events. Our results reveal significant differences in the east–west asymmetry of ESP intensities between SC 23 and SC 24. This shift is linked to changes in the heliolongitude distribution of the CME Speed Ratio (the ratio of CME average transit speed to near-Sun speed), which transitions from peaking predominantly in the western heliosphere in SC 23 to the eastern heliosphere in SC 24. This shift suggests a systematic difference in CME deflection between the two cycles, with CMEs in SC 23 being, on average, deflected eastward, while those in SC 24 exhibit a tendency for westward deflection.

Solar energetic particle (SEP) events have been observed for decades in the interplanetary medium by spacecraft measuring the intensity of energetic ions and electrons. These intensities provide valuable information about particle acceleration, the effects of bulk plasma dynamics on particle transport, and the anisotropy of particle distributions. Since measured intensities are typically reported in narrow energy bins, it is common to rebin intensities over a wider energy range to improve counting statistics. We investigate two methods for calculating intensities across multiple energy bins: (a) rebinned intensity ( jlinlin ), which is calculated by integrating the intensity over energy space and corresponds to the intensity at an effective energy that depends on the time-varying spectral index, and (b) spectral binned intensity ( jloglog ), calculated by integrating the log intensity in log-energy space, yielding the intensity at the log-centered energy that is independent of the spectral index and remains constant over time. We compare these methods using Parker Solar Probe (PSP) IS circle dot IS measurements of energetic protons, and we prescribe criteria for selecting the appropriate method for different scenarios. Our results show that the rebinned intensity is consistently larger (up to a factor of 5) than the spectral binned intensity for two SEP events observed by PSP, although the time series of the two methods are strongly correlated. Overall, both measures are important for SEP spectral analysis, and the selection of the appropriate measure depends on whether a physical (spectral binned intensity) or a statistical (rebinned intensity) representation is needed for a given analysis.

The 2021 October 28 solar energetic particle (SEP) event was a rare ground level enhancement (GLE) event, where secondary particles from the interactions of SEPs with the Earth’s atmosphere were detected by neutron monitors on the ground. A number of papers have examined the solar signatures, neutron monitor observations, and the characteristics of the SEP protons and electrons for this event. Here we describe the heavy ion signatures, specifically O and Fe, observed by multiple spacecraft. Parker Solar Probe, Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-Ahead, and Advanced Composition Explorer were distributed over nearly 60° in solar longitude and 0.4 au in heliocentric distance. Despite their separations, all three spacecraft measured event-integrated O and Fe spectra, well represented by power laws, with nearly the same power-law index of approximately −1.7, which is significantly harder than most large SEP events and many GLE events. Moreover, the Fe/O abundance ratio determined from these spectra was also found to be spatially invariant over the 60° in longitude and 0.4 au in heliocentric distance. Such near uniformity is highly unusual, and only one similar occurrence was found in a previous multispacecraft. The observed Fe/O ratio of 0.39 is higher than typical for large SEP events but not unusual for GLE events.

In the latter moments of 17 July 2023, the solar active region 13363, near the southwestern face of the Sun, was undergoing considerable evolution, which resulted in a significant solar energetic particle (SEP) event measured by Parker Solar Probe's Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISOIS) and near-Earth spacecraft. Remote observations from GOES and CHASE captured two M5.0+ solar flares that peaked at 23:34 and 00:06 UT from the source region. In tandem, STEREO COR2 first recorded a small, narrow coronal mass ejection (CME) emerging at 22:54 UT and then saw a major halo CME emerge at 23:43 UT with a bright, rapidly expanding core and CME-driven magnetic shock with an estimated speed of ∼1400 kms^-1. Parker Solar Probe was positioned at 0.65 au, near-perfectly on the nominal Parker spiral magnetic field line which connected Earth and the active region for a 537 kms^-1 ambient solar wind speed at L1. This fortuitous alignment provided the opportunity to examine how the SEP velocity dispersion, energy spectra, elemental composition, and fluence varied from 0.65 to 1 au along a shared magnetic connection to the Sun. We find a strong radial gradient, which is best characterized for H and He as r^-4.0 and most surprisingly is stronger for O and Fe which is better described by r^-5.7.

It has been inferred from theory that the spatial diffusion coefficient ( κ ) upstream of shocks is anticorrelated with the intensity of solar energetic particles (SEPs) at the shock ( j _shock ) motivated by quasi-linear theory (QLT). This is because a lower κ along the magnetic field ( κ _∥ ) implies that particles are trapped for longer, providing more acceleration and resulting in a higher j _shock . However, the simplest version of DSA predicts that j _shock is determined by the source of the injected population at the shock and plasma density jump with no relation to κ for low-energy SEPs. Here, we identify the relationship between κ and j _shock , whose form is unknown, using Parker Solar Probe observations of eight shocks within 1 au. We estimate a characteristic κ _fit along the shock normal by fitting the upstream SEP intensity profiles with a 1D steady-state transport model for acceleration and escape assuming pitch-angle isotropy in the plasma frame. Also, we estimate κ _∥ based on the magnetic power spectral density using QLT for comparison with κ _fit . Our results show that both quantities are anticorrelated with j _shock . Instead of a uniform relationship between κ and j _shock , we find distinct relationships appearing as potential power laws manifested across SEP events with no obvious radial dependence from 0.07 to 0.74 au. These relationships may be grouped by similar shock parameters (in terms of speed, strength, and orientation). Our findings raise questions about SEP transport and its radial dependence within 1 au and provide important observational constraints for models of shock-accelerated particles.

NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission provides extensive and well-coordinated new observations of the inner and outer heliosphere and scientific closure on two of the most important topics in Heliophysics: 1) the acceleration of charged particles and 2) the interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium. These topics are intimately coupled because particles accelerated in the inner heliosphere propagate outward through the solar wind and mediate its interaction with the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). The IMAP mission is designed to address these topics, provide extensive new real-time measurements critical to Space Weather observations and predictions, and much more. IMAP’s ten instruments are mounted on a simple, spinning spacecraft that orbits about the first Sun-Earth Lagrange point, L1, and repoints its Sun-facing solar arrays and spin axis toward the Sun each day. The instruments provide complete and synergistic observations that examine particle energization processes at 1 au while simultaneously probing the global heliospheric interaction with the VLISM. The 1 au in-situ observations include solar wind electrons and ions from solar wind through suprathermal energies, pickup and energetic ions, as well as the interplanetary magnetic field. IMAP provides Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) global imaging of the outer heliosphere via ENAs from tens of eV up through hundreds of keV, as well as observations of interstellar neutral atoms traversing the heliosphere. IMAP also directly measures interstellar dust that enters the heliosphere and the solar-wind-modulated ultraviolet glow. This paper provides the mission overview for the full IMAP mission, acts as a roadmap to the other papers in this IMAP collection and provides the citable reference for the overall IMAP mission going forward.

Solar energetic particles (SEPs) associated with shocks driven by fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) or shocks developed by corotating interaction regions (CIRs) often extend to high energies, and are thus key elements of space weather. The PUNCH mission, set to be launched in 2025, is equipped with a photometric instrument that enables 3D tracking of solar wind structures in the interplanetary space through polarized light. Tracking techniques are used to estimate speeds and speed gradients of solar structures, including speed jumps at fast shocks. We report on a strong and robust relation between the shock speed jump magnitude at CME and CIR shocks and the peak fluxes of associated energetic particles from the analysis of 59 CME-driven shocks and 74 CIRs observed by Wind/STEP between 1997 – 2023. We demonstrate that this relation, along with PUNCH anticipated observations of solar structures, can be used to forecast shock-associated particle events close to the Sun, thus advancing and providing a crucial input to forecasting of SEP fluxes in the heliosphere.

During mid-May 2024, active region (AR) 13664 produced a series of M- and X-class flares along with several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that resulted in exceptionally strong aurora at Earth. This study presents in situ solar energetic particle (SEP) ion composition data from Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Ahead (STA), Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), and Parker Solar Probe (PSP) as their magnetic connectivity to AR 13664 varied throughout the event period. Between 08 and 24 May, STA was separated by 12 degrees in longitude from ACE at 0.96 AU. SEP intensities rose gradually due to merged CMEs from AR 13664. On 13 May, an M6 flare was followed by a rapid-onset SEP event at STA, although velocity dispersion analysis yielded no clear path length or release time. Parker Solar Probe, 95 degrees longitudinally separated from Earth at 0.74 AU, observed gradually increasing SEP intensities beginning 11 May, followed by a jump in both SEP intensity and magnetic field (>100 nT) on 16 May. These early event intervals display stepwise SEP increases, consistent with the passage of successive CMEs. On 20 May, an X16.5 flare from AR 13664 produced an Fe-rich SEP event observed at all three spacecraft despite their wide longitudinal separations. Throughout the period, Fe/O ratios ranged from <0.01 to >0.8 and increased with energy between 1 and 100 MeV/nuc. This trend deviates from the typical energy-dependent decrease expected from diffusive shock acceleration and suggests more complex scenarios, possibly involving variable suprathermal seed populations or species-dependent transport.

Stationed in an orbit about the first Sun-Earth Lagrange point, L1, NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission is designed to provide well-coordinated measurements of the in-situ solar wind (SW) plasma and interplanetary magnetic field, interstellar pickup ions (PUIs), suprathermal and energetic ions, interstellar and energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), interstellar dust, and 3-dimensional (3D) maps of the global solar wind structure. Together these measurements from ten instruments address two key Heliophysics objectives, namely, 1) the acceleration of charged particles and 2) the interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium. This paper describes one of the five in-situ instruments – the Compact Dual Ion Composition Experiment (CoDICE) that provides comprehensive measurements of the source populations and the charged particles that are accelerated near the Sun and throughout the heliosphere and beyond. CoDICE also provides the 3D velocity distribution functions (3D VDFs) of interstellar PU He+ ions and the isotopic composition of interstellar He and Ne PUIs, thus enabling detailed studies of the properties of the local interstellar medium (LISM) and its interactions with the SW and our heliosphere. CoDICE is a next generation instrument that combines two measurement systems in a novel, compact design to provide 1) the 3D VDFs and mass, isotopic, and ionic charge state composition of the lower energy SW, suprathermal, and PUIs between ∼0.5–80 keV/q, and 2) the arrival directions, and mass and isotopic composition of higher energy H-Fe ions between ∼0.03–5 MeV/nuc. CoDICE also provides measurements of SW abundances and charge states, as well as the intensities of suprathermal protons in four different directions to the real-time I-ALiRT data stream for Space Weather research and monitoring.

In the latter moments of 2023 July 17, the solar active region (AR) 13363, near the southwestern face of the Sun, was undergoing considerable evolution, which resulted in a significant solar energetic particle (SEP) event measured by Parker Solar Probe’s Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) and near-Earth spacecraft. Remote observations from GOES and CHASE captured two M5.0+ solar flares that peaked at 23:34 and 00:06 UT from the source region. In tandem, STEREO COR2 first recorded a small, narrow coronal mass ejection (CME) emerging at 22:54 UT and then saw a major halo CME emerge at 23:43 UT with a bright, rapidly expanding core and CME-driven magnetic shock with an estimated speed of ∼1400 km s ^−1 . Parker Solar Probe was positioned at 0.65 au, near-perfectly on the nominal Parker spiral magnetic field line, which connected Earth and the AR for a 537 km s ^−1 ambient solar wind speed at L1. This fortuitous alignment provided the opportunity to examine how the SEP velocity dispersion, energy spectra, elemental composition, and fluence varied from 0.65 to 1 au along a shared magnetic connection to the Sun. We find a strong radial gradient, which is best characterized for H and He as r ^−4.0 , and most surprisingly, is stronger for O and Fe, which is better described by r ^−5.7 .

We report observations of direct evidence of energetic protons being accelerated above ∼400 keV within the reconnection exhaust of a heliospheric current sheet (HCS) crossing by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) at a distance of ∼16.25 solar radii ( R _s ) from the Sun. Inside the exhaust, both the reconnection-generated plasma jet and the accelerated protons up to ∼400 keV propagated toward the Sun, unambiguously establishing their origin from HCS reconnection sites located antisunward of PSP. Within the core of the exhaust, PSP detected stably trapped energetic protons up to ∼400 keV, which is ≈1000 times greater than the available magnetic energy per particle. The differential energy spectrum of the accelerated protons behaved as a pure power law with spectral index of ∼−5. Supporting simulations using the kglobal model suggest that the trapping and acceleration of protons up to ∼400 keV in the reconnection exhaust are likely facilitated by merging magnetic islands with a guide field between ∼0.2 and 0.3 of the reconnecting magnetic field, consistent with the observations. These new results, enabled by PSP’s proximity to the Sun, demonstrate that magnetic reconnection in the HCS is a significant new source of energetic particles in the near-Sun solar wind. Our findings of in situ particle acceleration via magnetic reconnection at the HCS provide valuable insights into this fundamental process, which frequently converts the large magnetic field energy density in the near-Sun plasma environment and may be responsible for heating the Sun’s atmosphere, accelerating the solar wind, and energizing charged particles to extremely high energies in solar flares.

We report on a study of the Multiview Observatory for Solar Terrestrial Science (MOST) mission that will provide comprehensive imagery and time series data needed to understand the magnetic connection between the solar interior and the solar atmosphere/inner heliosphere. MOST will build upon the successes of SOHO and STEREO missions with new views of the Sun and enhanced instrument capabilities. This article is based on a study conducted at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center that determined the required instrument refinement, spacecraft accommodation, launch configuration, and flight dynamics for mission success. MOST is envisioned as the next generation great observatory positioned to obtain three-dimensional information of large-scale heliospheric structures such as coronal mass ejections, stream interaction regions, and the solar wind itself. The MOST mission consists of 2 pairs of spacecraft located in the vicinity of Sun-Earth Lagrange points L4 (MOST1, MOST3) and L5 (MOST2 and MOST4). The spacecraft stationed at L4 (MOST1) and L5 (MOST2) will each carry seven remote-sensing and three in-situ instrument suites, including a novel radio package known as the Faraday Effect Tracker of Coronal and Heliospheric structures (FETCH). MOST3 and MOST4 will carry only the FETCH instruments and are positioned at variable locations along the Earth orbit up to 20° ahead of L4 and 20° behind L5, respectively. FETCH will have polarized radio transmitters and receivers on all four spacecraft to measure the magnetic content of solar wind structures propagating from the Sun to Earth using the Faraday rotation technique. The MOST mission will be able to sample the magnetized plasma throughout the Sun-Earth connected space during the mission lifetime over a solar cycle.

We present an event observed by Parker Solar Probe at $\sim$0.2 au on March 2, 2022 in which imaging and \emph{in situ} measurements coincide. During this event, PSP passed through structures on the flank of a streamer blowout CME including an isolated flux tube in front of the CME, a turbulent sheath, and the CME itself. Imaging observations and \emph{in situ} helicity and principal variance signatures consistently show the presence of flux ropes internal to the CME. In both the sheath, and the CME interval, the distributions are more isotropic, the spectra are softer, and the abundance ratios of Fe/O and He/H are lower than those in the isolated flux tube, and yet elevated relative to typical plasma and SEP abundances. These signatures in the sheath and the CME indicate that both flare populations and those from the plasma are accelerated to form the observed energetic particle enhancements. In contrast, the isolated flux tube shows large streaming, hard spectra and large Fe/O and He/H ratios, indicating flare sources. Energetic particle fluxes are most enhanced within the CME interval from suprathermal through energetic particle energies ($\sim$ keV to $>10$ MeV), indicating particle acceleration, and confinement local to the closed magnetic structure. The flux-rope morphology of the CME helps to enable local modulation and trapping of energetic particles, particularly along helicity channels and other plasma boundaries. Thus, the CME acts to build-up energetic particle populations, allowing them to be fed into subsequent higher energy particle acceleration throughout the inner heliosphere where a compression or shock forms on the CME front.

We analyze the spectral properties of He-3 and He-4 as well as the heavy ions (oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicon, and iron) in 80 He-3-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events observed by the Ultra-Low-Energy Ion Spectrometer on board the Advanced Composition Explorer spacecraft since its launch in 1997 until 2024. We split the spectral analysis into two criteria: events with fast and wide coronal mass ejections (CMEs; called "FW events") and events with slow, narrow, or no observed CMEs (called "non-FW events"). Overall, we find that events with fast and wide CMEs exhibit more uniform spectra across all species, and their low-energy spectral indices are strongly correlated, suggesting a CME provides an additional reacceleration mechanism for the He-3-rich SEPs. When comparing each species' low-energy spectral index for events with no associated fast-and-wide CME, we find a primary peak in the spectral hardness of He-3, and a secondary peak in Mg and Si. If we consider a plasma temperature of 1.0-1.3 MK, Mg and Si have a charge-to-mass ratio (Q/M) nearest to one-third (1/3), directly half that of He-3. Thus, our results support the results of Roth & Temerin, which suggest heavy ions resonate with the second harmonic of the same ion cyclotron waves energizing He-3. However, it is unclear why the Fe enhancement is not reflected in its spectral index, and we propose that additional acceleration and/or transport mechanisms are playing a role in the abundance enhancement of Fe and heavier ions.

On 2022 September 5, Parker Solar Probe (Parker) observed a large solar energetic particle (SEP) event at the unprecedented distance of only 15 R _S from the Sun. The observations from the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) obtained over the course of this event are remarkably rich, and an overview is presented here. IS⊙IS is capable of measuring ions from 20 keV to over 100 MeV nuc ^−1 and electrons from 30 keV to 6 MeV; here, we primarily focus on the proton and helium measurements above 80 keV. Among the surprising results are evidence of inverse velocity dispersion at energies above 1 MeV during the onset of the event, a sharp decrease in the energetic particle intensities at all energies at the interplanetary shock crossing, and repeated short durations of highly anisotropic sunward flow. Many changes in the SEP intensities, anisotropy, and spectral steepness are coincident with solar wind structure boundaries identified using the Parker solar wind magnetic field and plasma data. However, there are significant changes that are not correlated with any clearly visible solar wind variation. The observations presented here serve as an introduction to a complex event with numerous opportunities for future, more in-depth studies.

The radial evolution of particles accelerated at corotating interaction regions (CIRs) is not fully understood, particularly the distance range over which this particle acceleration occurs and how the energy spectra are modulated by transport through the inner heliosphere. Here, we present observations of energetic proton enhancements associated with a CIR observed by Parker Solar Probe on 2021 April 25 during the inbound leg of its orbit near ∼46 R _s (∼0.21 au). The CIR is identified at additional spacecraft (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, STEREO-A; Solar Orbiter, SolO; and Advanced Composition Explorer, ACE) using a corotation time delay estimation, and energetic proton spectra from each spacecraft are compared. We find that (1) energetic protons are observed near 46 R _s streaming sunward ahead of the CIR; (2) the CIR persists for at least one solar rotation and the corresponding energetic proton enhancements are observed at STEREO-A, SolO, and ACE; and (3) the proton energy spectrum is steeper near the Sun and hardens near 1 au. This observation presents the closest in situ energetic particle observation of a CIR to the Sun ever recorded. Results presented here suggest that particles can be accelerated by CIR structures within 1 au and these particles can penetrate very deep into the inner heliosphere.

We examine variations in energetic storm particle (ESP) heavy-ion average intensities and energy spectra between ∼0.1 and 75 MeV nucleon −1 at coronal mass ejection (CME)–driven interplanetary shocks for events observed at the ACE spacecraft. We compare ESP events observed during the weaker solar cycle (SC) 24 and the relatively stronger SC 23 to investigate any effects on the strength of an SC, including the associated transient events, on ESP properties at 1 au. We find that the number of clearly defined heavy-ion ESP events at ACE during SC 23 is about twice that observed during SC 24 (76 versus 41). The average transit speed of the driving interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) at 1 au is 20% higher during SC 23 than during SC 24 (859.4 km s −1 versus 729.1 km s −1 ). The correlation of ESP average intensities with ICME speeds shows that lower-speed ICMEs in SC 24 can be as efficient as the higher-speed events in SC 23 at producing ESPs below 2 MeV nucleon −1 . The distribution and magnitude of the average intensities for energies below ∼1 MeV nucleon −1 are consistent between both SCs. However, events with intensity enhancements at higher energies (>∼10 MeV nucleon −1 ) are more frequent and their intensity distributions are harder for SC 23, resulting in an increase in the rollover energy ( E 0 ) for their spectra profiles. This suggests more efficient ESP acceleration at >10 MeV nucleon −1 during SC 23.

We present analyses of 0.05–2 MeV ions from the 2022 February 16 energetic storm particle event observed by Parker Solar Probe's (PSP) IS⊙IS/EPI-Lo instrument at 0.35 au from the Sun. This event was characterized by an enhancement in ion fluxes from a quiet background, increasing gradually with time with a nearly flat spectrum, rising sharply near the arrival of the coronal mass ejection (CME)–driven shock, becoming nearly a power-law spectrum, then decaying exponentially afterward, with a rate that was independent of energy. From the observed fluxes, we determine diffusion coefficients, finding that far upstream of the shock the diffusion coefficients are nearly independent of energy, with a value of 10 20 cm 2 s −1 . Near the shock, the diffusion coefficients are more than 1 order of magnitude smaller and increase nearly linearly with energy. We also determine the source of energetic particles, by comparing ratios of the intensities at the shock to estimates of the quiet-time intensity to predictions from diffusive shock acceleration theory. We conclude that the source of energetic ions is mostly the solar wind for this event. We also present potential interpretations of the near-exponential decay of the intensity behind the shock. One possibility we suggest is that the shock was overexpanding when it crossed PSP and the energetic particle intensity decreased behind the shock to fill the expanding volume. Overexpanding CMEs could well be more common closer to the Sun, and this is an example of such a case.