This proposal will use RHESSI hard X-ray data and TRACE images to investigate the temporal and spatial characteristics of magnetic reconnection in CMEs. The goal is to understand the role of reconnection in the initiation of CMEs. This work will use prominence eruptions as proxies for CME initiation and suitably processed hard X-ray data as an indicator of reconnection location. Time-of-flight analysis will help constrain the reconnection region to be analyzed. This approach to examining CME initiation is totally new, since it will exploit never-before-available RHESSI data and time-of-flight measurements.
