Global Solar Observations for Actionable Space Weather Forecasts

The architecture required for actionable space weather forecasts is actively being discussed by space weather community and government agencies around the world. There is a growing consensus that any architecture must include observations of the solar magnetic fields at the surface of the sun and of the surrounding corona from multiple viewpoints around the Sun. Understanding the magnetic field emerging from the solar surface and its interaction with the solar corona is essential for developing methods to forecast space weather. Accurate forecasts require a full knowledge of the global distribution of the magnetic field. STEREO EUVI observations have demonstrated the value of multiple views of the corona to assess trigger conditions for flares and CMEs, but to date, magnetograph observations and operational EUV observations, are only available from instruments located on the Sun-Earth line.

We present concepts for the next-generation of space-based magnetographs and extended coronal imagers which could be deployed throughout the heliosphere on small sat constellations or larger observatories to enable greater observational coverage of the solar magnetic fields and a 3-dimensional view of coronal structures. We also discuss the results of extended coronal imaging out to 4 Rsun acquired by the SUVI instruments on GOES-16 and -17 and how both magnetographs and EUV imagers benefit space weather capabilities.