Major solar eruptive events (SEEs), consisting of both a large flare and a
near simultaneous large fast coronal mass ejection (CME), are the most powerful
explosions and also the most powerful and energetic particle accelerators in
the solar system, producing solar energetic particles (SEPs) up to tens of GeV
for ions and hundreds of MeV for electrons. The intense fluxes of escaping SEPs
are a major hazard for humans in space and for spacecraft. Furthermore, the
solar plasma ejected at high speed in the fast CME completely restructures the
interplanetary medium (IPM) - major SEEs therefore produce the most extreme
space weather in geospace, the interplanetary medium, and at other planets.
Thus, understanding the flare/CME energy release process(es) and the related
particle acceleration processes are major goals in Heliophysics. To make the
next major breakthroughs, we propose a new mission concept, SEE 2020, a single
spacecraft with a complement of advanced new instruments that focus directly on
the coronal energy release and particle acceleration sites, and provide the
detailed diagnostics of the magnetic fields, plasmas, mass motions, and
energetic particles required to understand the fundamental physical processes
involved.
