Statistics of blob properties in two types of coronal streamers

¹ Shandong Key Laboratory of Space Environment and Exploration Technology, Institute of Space Sciences, School of Space Science and Technology, Shandong University, Shandong, China
² Institute of Science and Technology for Deep Space Exploration, Suzhou Campus, Nanjing University, Suzhou 215163, China
³ State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
⁴ Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
⁵ Space Research and Technology Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl. 1, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Solar Activity and Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

^★ Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 3 February 2026
Accepted: 27 February 2026

Abstract

Context. Previous studies have shown that a streamer blob might originate in the lower corona and thus be affected by activity in that region. While the base of one streamer might differ from that of another, it can be cataloged into two distinct types: active region streamers (ARSs) that have active regions at their base, and quiet equatorial streamers (QESs) that do not have an active region underneath. The difference between the blob properties in ARSs and those in QESs remains unknown.

Aims. We compare the properties of propagating blobs in ARSs and QESs.

Methods. By analyzing the whole-year observations from SOHO/LASCO/C2 in 2018, we carried out a statistical analysis of the properties of propagating blobs in ARSs and QESs.

Results. We found that the properties of streamer blobs are very different from one blob to another. The occurrence rate of blobs in ARSs is about twice as high as that in QESs. On average, the ARS blobs have significantly higher initial velocities and slightly higher accelerations, but slightly lower heights of first appearance than the QES blobs. There is a weak positive correlation between the initial velocities and heights of first appearance in the two groups of streamer blobs. The correlation between the accelerations and heights of first appearance in ARS blobs is negative, while that in QES blobs is positive.

Conclusions. Our results provide statistical evidence that a higher degree of activity at the coronal base of a streamer can cause more dynamic blobs higher up, and that it affects the structures of the solar wind originating in the region.