The Future of Space Weather Forecasting with Polarized Wide-Field Imaging

Heliospheric imaging has come of age. From the original concept of white light photometry with the Helios spacecraft through to the HIs on board STEREO and current research on the outer limits of the corona, heliospheric imagers have enabled important developments in our understanding of the solar wind and transients within. Future instruments have the potential to revolutionize space weather forecasting. We present a summary of recent progress as it relates to space weather prediction and new directions that a future instrument, which would build on lessons from Coriolis/SMEI and STEREO/HI, can take. Applications include both direct, far more precise 3-D tracking of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) across the inner solar system; measurement of CMEs' internal structures and their evolution; and a more complete, up-to-date understanding ("nowcasting") of prevailing conditions in the outer corona and solar wind. We will review of the status quo of heliospheric imaging and the latest developments in feature detection and measurement. We also explore the benefits of polarized heliospheric imaging, which we believe to be the best next step to advance heliospheric imaging and continue the scientific and operational development of this field.