Glossary term: Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)
Description: A coronal mass ejection (or CME) is the explosive expulsion of solar plasma and its magnetic field from the Sun (and other similar stars) into the heliosphere (or asterosphere in other stars). CMEs are magnetic explosions, typically associated with solar flares. A CME is a physical ejection of material, as opposed to a "flare", which is limited to the visible radiation. CMEs vary widely in structure, density, and velocity. Earth-impacting CMEs can result in significant geomagnetic storms.
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Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
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In Other Languages
- Arabic: قذف الكتلة الإكليلي (CME)
- German: Koronaler Massenauswurf (CME)
- French: Éjection de masse coronale (EMC ou CME en anglais)
- Italian: Espulsione di massa coronale (CME)
- Japanese: コロナ質量放出 (external link)
- Korean: 코로나질량방출(CME)
- Brazilian Portuguese: Ejeção de massa coronal (CME)
- Simplified Chinese: 日冕物质抛射（CME）
- Traditional Chinese: 日冕物質拋射（CME）
Related Media
A Coronal Mass Ejection
Caption: A burst of solar material can be seen erupting from the Sun in this view, illustrating a coronal mass ejection (CME)—a large eruption of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona. These CMEs are caused by magnetic explosions in the Sun's corona. During a CME, huge amounts of electrically charged particles are launched into space at great speeds, carrying part of the Sun’s magnetic field with them. These events are driven by changes in the Sun’s magnetic structure and release vast clouds of hot gas that travel outward into the solar system. When a CME moves through space, it can interact with a planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere, sometimes creating spectacular auroras or, in strong cases, interfering with artificial satellites and power systems.
CMEs are often associated with a temporary brightening of the region of the Sun where the CME originated. This is known as a solar flare. Stars other than the Sun can also have CMEs and flares.
This image was taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). This is a space mission to monitor the Sun. The image here is taken at a special wavelength which partially ionised helium emits strongly at.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO
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