Toward an Accurate Prediction of the Arrival Time of Geomagnetic-Effective Coronal Mass Ejections

Accurately predicting the arrival of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) to the Earth based on remote images is of critical significance for the study of space weather. Here we make a statistical study of 21 Earth-directed CMEs, specifically exploring the relationship between CME initial speeds and transit times. The initial speed of a CME is obtained by fitting the CME with the Graduated Cylindrical Shell model and is thus free of projection effects. We then use the drag force model to fit results of the transit time versus the initial speed. By adopting different drag regimes, i.e., the viscous, aerodynamics, and hybrid regimes, we get similar results, with a least mean estimation error of the hybrid model of 12.9 hr. CMEs with a propagation angle (the angle between the propagation direction and the Sun-Earth line) larger than their half-angular widths arrive at the Earth with an angular deviation caused by factors other than the radial solar wind drag. The drag force model cannot be reliably applied to such events. If we exclude these events in the sample, the prediction accuracy can be improved, i.e., the estimation error reduces to 6.8 hr. This work suggests that it is viable to predict the arrival time of CMEs to the Earth based on the initial parameters with fairly good accuracy. Thus, it provides a method of forecasting space weather 1-5 days following the occurrence of CMEs.