Simultaneous SOHO and ground-based observations of a large eruptive prominence and coronal mass ejection

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are frequently associated with erupting promi nences near the solar surface. A spectacular eruption of the southern polar crown prominence was observed on 2 June 1998, accompanied by a CME that wa s well-observed by the LASCO coronagraphs on SOHO. The prominence was obser ved in its quiescent state and was followed throughout its eruption by the SOHO EIT and later by LASCO as the bright, twisted core of the CME. Ground- based Hot observations of the prominence were obtained at the Ondrejov Obse rvatory in the Czech Republic. A gnat deal of fine structure was observed w ithin the prominence as it erupted. The prominence motion was found to rota te about its axis as it moved outward. The CME contained a helical structur e that is consistent with the ejection of a magnetic flux rope from the Sun . Similar structures have been observed by LASCO in many other CMEs. The re lationship of the Bur rope to other structures in the CME is often not clea r. In this event, the prominence clearly lies near the trailing edge of the structure identified as a flux rope. This structure can be observed from t he onset of the CME in the low corona all the way out to the edge of the LA SCO field of view. The initiation and evolution of the CME are modeled usin g a fully self-consistent, 3D axisymmetric, MHD code.